07/14/06:

                Woke up this morning and found Leo watching the news. The only thing they seemed to be covering was the arrival of the two new Overlords. He switched off the TV and asked if I was going to go to breakfast.

                "Yeah, Olivia and I have to go shopping today so that we can hit the road tomorrow. You should come with us, the Market is always interesting."

                We showered, dressed and met Olivia for breakfast. She told us that she'd been telling Slash about the people in Kingman. "She was interested. I told her that you were particularly uptight about it, Jazz."

                "Thanks!"

                "I told her that we weren't sure what their Grand Plan is, but Sakkara's safe for the time being. Then she asked me, 'You're not sure what they are? Well, if they take over everything - they're Yakuza. But if they keep to themselves - Ninja.'"

                Leo went to see about getting us a car and while he was gone Olivia told me that before Slash left this morning, she'd assumed her disguise and really abused herself. Hitting herself, scratching her face, back and arms, and really messing up her clothes.

                Olivia had asked her, "My God! What kind of reputation do I have?"

                "Drow bondage films are very popular. We all have that reputation."

                Leo came back then, and Olivia told us both some info that Slash had given her.

                "She told me it was a good thing we didn't hit the road sooner; heavy rains had caused mudslides all over California. And don't let me forget that she gave me a letter to deliver when we make it to New Ectopia."

                "I asked her about getting thru Ka territory. She told me that we should fly the Kingdom colors, pay the tributes, and stock up on luxury items for bribes. The hiway patrol love Rayban Gargoyles, leather driving gloves and silk ties of all things. But make sure we hide the items well - anything they find will be confiscated as 'contraband'. If we stop in Barstow we can exchange chips for Ka money."

                "She also recommended that we take Hiway 10; it's open all the way up to San Francisco."

                We spent some time discussing possible routes. We had just decided that we needed a lot more information when Chocolate and Cherry showed up to escort us to the Market. Leo was disgusted with the thought of having to go around with a bodyguard but kept quiet. We started at the Mirage. Olivia insisted that we go take a look at Siegfreid and Roy.

                It was awful. Their enclosure had a huge round bed in it. The whole thing looked as if Liberace had decorated it in the throws of an all-out tiger fetish. There was a sign that said, "Do Not Spit On Glass". I wanted to ask who would even want to, but I took a look at the pair of large Cats guarding the area and kept my mouth shut. Olivia asked the guards if many humans came to see them and they said that quite a few do.

                They were sitting on a small loveseat watching TV. They were wearing sequined leotards and Olivia thought they looked pale. Since they started out incredibly pale I couldn't see much difference.

                There was another sign, "Feeding Times Noon and 5:00 PM." Olivia tapped the glass to get their attention. They didn't respond but the Cats did - they growled at her and told her to step back from the glass.

                "Is anyone allowed to speak to them?" she asked.

                "Not our decision," they growled.

                "Then whose decision is it?"

                "Lord Caesar or Lord Mirage."

                Olivia seemed to make a decision and we continued on with getting our supplies. At the Mirage there was a trader with Italian calf skin loafers. We got seven pairs, all in larger sizes - Orcs have big feet. They had a pair in Alfred's size so Olivia got him a pair, too. "Leo? How about you? Want a pair?" Olivia asked.

                "Not likely!" he said. We moved on.

                Another trader had some mirrored aviator shades for a mere $5,000.00/pair!

                Another place we found four nice silk ties and got them all.

                Then we headed for Fremont. There was one guy who was selling Rolexes. He also had one really nice London Fog Trench coat. It was a very large size, so we bought it. Another trader had racks of some fabulous tie-died stuff. "New Ectopia?" I asked Olivia. She agreed and we bought a ton of that stuff. (I just may have to keep an item or two for myself though!)

                Then there was a guy who was selling boots. Pretty cool looking boots. They were made from some sort of animal skin, almost translucent, metallic gold. "Gecko," he told us.

                "Big gecko," I said.

                He was wearing a pair of them and lit an acetylene torch that he held right on his foot - and didn't even flinch! "Impervious to heat," he said.

                Olivia was in love! "How much?" she asked.

                The trader looked her over, then me and Leo, then Chocolate and Cherry. "For you...$15,000.00"

                Olivia heaved a big sigh; "I hate sliding scales. Remember when things used to have price tags? And everyone paid the same price?" The trader was unmoved. "Do you have my size?" she asked.

                He had us move around to the back of his booth to fit her. There were some skins drying on racks, they were seven feet long!

                "Where do you find them?" Olivia inquired.

                " In the northern desert. They're vicious things - will attack anything. But they're worth it. The skins are heatproof and waterproof. But let me warn you - they actually conduct cold, so be careful." He found a pair in Olivia's size and she opted to wear them for the rest of our shopping trip. We continued on and found a 50-gallon barrel with a nice, tight lid. The trader agreed to have it delivered to the Excalibur for us.

                I thought it was funny - the whole time we were at the Market, Leo was being so polite, so considerate to me. But was being his usual self to Olivia. (Of course, she was being her usual self to him.) Families!

                On our way out of the market, I broke down - I just had to have a pair of those boots, too. So we stopped and while the man was fitting me, I asked Leo, "Would you like a pair, too? It's on our dime." So he got a pair and Olivia bought a pair for Alfred, as well.

                Back at the Excalibur, we filled the barrel with water and made sure that Scooby was all gassed, loaded and ready to go for tomorrow.

                We went upstairs and found Alfred giving Allison a few last orders and things to take care of while he's gone. Olivia gave him his presents and explained about the boots. Then she asked him about talking to Caesar about Siegfried and Roy. Alfred wasn't sure that was such a good idea.

                "But they helped save the White Tigers from extinction!" Olivia insisted.

                "I don't think that would be the approach to take," Alfred said, but didn't have any better ideas.

                Allison said, "The problem with vengeance is that it gets your soul all sticky."

                Olivia persisted, "But I really want to ask him about it, and I think we should tell him about the snipe."

                "I agree, with the snipe part anyway," I said, "I'm not so sure about the other issue."

                "But Alfred, you could get me out of trouble, right?"

                Alfred laughed, "How fast can we get out of town? Well, you may get your chance. Caesar wants to see us tonite. For drinks and farewells."

                Leo got up and said that he had to be getting back to the Base, to get packed for tomorrow, "I'll meet you here tomorrow morning with the Ambassador." We wished him a good night and went down to our limo. Phillips was waiting for us at the Stratosphere and once again escorted us to Caesar's residence. Caesar invited us to be seated and drink orders were taken. Once we were settled, he took a long drink and regarded us solemnly.

                "I am going to miss you," Caesar said. "You have been of great assistance to all of us."

                "And we'll miss you, too," I said.

                Olivia agreed, "It's been interesting."

                Caesar said, "I hope you'll be back."

                "We will," Olivia assured him. "King Malcolm has named us Ambassadors Plenipotentiary."

                "Congratulations."

                "But there is something we really need to tell you before we leave," Olivia said. "Prior to the day we brought them to your office - there was no such thing as snipe."

                Caesar's ears went up and his tail froze in place. "Excuse me?"

                "It was a story that people would use to keep kids busy on camping trips. Everybody's been on a snipe hunt at least once. It's kind of an initiation ritual for going camping."

                "So you were going to send him off to hunt something that never existed?" Caesar asked.

                I said, "No. We, I, never meant him to go. I never even meant for him to hear me. I was just making a little joke to Olivia."

                "He was being so pompous!" she said.

                "And I totally forgot how well you guys hear," I said.

                Caesar was trying to understand, "So this is some form of public humiliation?"

                "No! It's just something you say. We never would have really done it." I said.

                "We were going to tell you earlier," Olivia told him, "but we found out that some of the other Overlords - Luxor, for one - knew the truth and were planning on surprising you with the information at the funeral feast."

                "So we came up with them to prevent your humiliation," I said.

                Olivia said, "We're sorry it snowballed the way it did. We tried to tell you. But it was too late."

                Caesar sighed, "It's okay. I'll do some damage control. You know - he was an idiot, a pompous overbearing ass. I was so relieved to have found a place for him. But on the good side, you have brought more life into our community then you took out of it. It's sad that we are so desperate for genetic material."

                And then with a wild change of subject he said, "What did you think of Hadass?"

                "I don't know," I said, "it just doesn't feel right. Humans have a saying- 'If something seems to good to be true, it probably is'."

                "But don't they also have a saying - 'If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck….'?" Caesar asked.

                "Yes, they say that, too. And I want to believe that she's all that she seems to be, but I just don't know. And her name! I know I should know what that name means, but I can't put a finger on it."

                Olivia said, "When did you get so pessimistic Jazz? Keep it up and you're going to be a Wood Elf soon."

                Caesar said, "Perhaps we can get more information and pass it on to you, or vice-versa."

                Conversation dwindled then and we had some more drinks and enjoyed the sight of the city lights.

                Olivia broke the silence with, "We were at the Mirage today."

                "And?" Caesar prompted. His tail was vibrating from his effort to control it.

                "Siegfried and Roy looked awful sad."

                "You don't think they should be there," it was a statement, not a question.

                "But doing to them what they did to you, doesn't that put you on the same moral level?"

                "I never claimed that we were above them," he said. "But we had to have our revenge. What would you have us do?"

                That's when Olivia played the extinction card. Caesar was more annoyed than angry. "You've been talking to Lucifer too much. He made the same argument. It's one of the reasons he was banished. Not the only one, mind."

                "We've never talked about this subject," we said.

                "I'm sure they've learned their lesson by now," Olivia said, "If you must continue to incarcerate them, must you display them? I used to read all the time about how much they loved their cats; doesn't that count for anything?"

                "Oh, I remember it well. Romping in their bed, being trained to use the toilet, playing with an empty beer keg in the pool." Caesar sneered. "But it's not that simple. They Made us. Or to be more accurate - their efforts convinced others to Make us. If they are not the Devils we have made them out to be then they must be Gods."

                "Why must they be either?" I asked.

                "To overcome slavery at the hands of Devils make us great. To say we were created by Gods makes us merely ordinary."

                "So you lock them up?" Olivia asked.

                Caesar repeated himself, "What would you have us do with them?"

                "Well. They know more about you than anyone else, including yourselves," she said. "And they must have records of where the Lost Ones are."

                "Their records were all destroyed and they say they do not remember. We have asked them. They do not have enough information to be practical. They were so terrified when we Changed that they destroyed their records deliberately, to keep us form finding the others. Now, they have been reduced to clinging to each other and babbling when they aren't on stage."

                Olivia said, "Remember at Cheyenne Mountain when you asked why people think that Vegas is a wretched hive of villainy and scum? This is one pretty good reason."

                Caesar was silent for a few moments, "I will bring it to a vote of the combined Overlords." And then he wished us good luck on the road.

                "We thank your for your hospitality," Olivia said,

                "All of it, over these many months," I said.

                "I suggest you speak to Lucky Duck before you leave. They know the roads better than anyone. I wish you a safe journey and a safe return."

                "And we wish you continued prosperity," I said.

                Phillips escorted us downstairs. He was amazed that Olivia had mentioned the Siegfried and Roy issue. "It's been brought up before, but you put it into a new perspective."

                Olivia said, "He'll do the right thing, he's a good person."

                "Yes, or I wouldn't work for him. It really is a pride issue. The majority of the lost children are Caesar's. The females wanted revenge even more; they've all had their children taken from them. But he said he will discuss it with them and he will."

                He walked us to the car. "We'll miss you," I said

                "And I will certainly miss you."

                "But we'll be back," Olivia said.

                "And I will be here to greet you."

                Alfred shook his hand and we asked the driver to take us to the Venetian - we had to say goodbye to Lucifer. He was waiting for us when we were shown to his office. "Good evening," he said.

                "We're finally leaving," I said.

                "I'm glad you were here for the Aztlan thing - it could have been costly, otherwise."

                We thanked him for all his help and he gave us some radio codes to use. Then Olivia asked him if there was anyway to get a message back to the House.

                "We have regular messengers. One should be leaving in a few days."

                Olivia asked for and received some stationary. She wrote a short not to Cordelia, enclosed the Polaroid's she had taken a couple days ago and sealed and addressed the envelope.

                "I will see it safely delivered," Lucifer promised as he walked us out himself.

                Then it was to Fremont to speak to the Duck crew. The repairs to their cargo section were almost complete, and they had added a second 45' trailer, which was in the middle of being refitted with some heavy guns. Dave was happy to help us out. He invited us into the rig for some tea and showed us some of their maps. "There are scattered gangs between Vegas & Barstow, most not strong enough to hit a caravan but enough to take single vehicles. Past Barstow into Ka territory, the gangs thin out and you just have to worry about the Ka patrols. They won't attack, but they will expect bribes and tax you beyond all reason."

                "North to Reno is rougher. Bigger gangs, and better organized. Some communities prey on traders by arranging accidents and stripping the wreck. The Carson City / Lake Tahoe area is a nightmare of warring survivor groups. Don't stop, don't help, don't get involved. Make sure you have plenty of fuel and ammo."

                "Reno is controlled by survivors from several Federal prisons and a few state facilities. They were being moved to a California Rex-84 facility when a few managed to escape. They killed their guards & took the town. Pay your tolls, pass out a few bribes to everyone, and move out quickly. Don't get involved. Don't help anyone; 99% of the time it's a trap to have an excuse to open fire on you."

                "Past Reno, there are just some small communities. Trade at your own leisure. Never present yourselves as anything other than traders; some communities will try to kill you if they think you are scouting for a possible attack or annexation. Sacramento is your destination if going to New Ectopia. There is an embassy there; you need to get travel papers and a book of the law. Sacramento is a walled fortress town; trade & news are welcome, but they're worse on the 'citizen/non-citizen' thing than MFZ. It's predominantly Silver Elves and they have no sense of humor."

                "Stay on the 5 until you get to Eugene. That's the official border. It's the last place that Christian worship is legal in Ectopian territory. Prepare to be taxed on any luxuries, weapons, ammunition, and fossil fuels you have. If your rig can stand it, switch to alcohol." He looked up at us, and said, "That's about all we can warn you about. Stay sharp, and trust your instincts. Good luck, and good trading."

                We took lots of notes and thanked them.

                Back at the Excalibur, Olivia and Alfred headed off to their rooms to enjoy one last night of privacy before hitting the road.

                I lay in bed, awake, trying to figure why or how I should know what 'Hadass' means. I was getting nowhere and was this close to falling asleep when it came to me.

                There is, or was, a charitable society based in New York, whose goal it was to promote peaceful solutions to the violence in Israel by performing charitable acts. And the name of the organization was Hadass, and it translated to 'benevolence'. And with that out of the way, Chesed became clear. It means 'kindness'.

                So Caesar was right - she really is a duck!

                Well, I had been planning to Send a quick message to Malcolm, to apologize for his finding out about Leo and I the way he did. It just didn't feel right and I felt bad about it. But I thought that he should know about the community in Cheyenne Mountain, as well. That was too much info for me to Send, so I threw some clothes on and called Allison. She arranged a car and escort to take me to the Stratosphere. Phillips met me again. Oh-shit-thirty in the morning and he's still in a damn suit! He held the door for me and asked, "I thought you were leaving?"

                "We are, but there's something I must tell King Malcolm about." He just nodded, led me to the communications room, and allowed me to make my call.

                I told Malcolm about the folk at the Mountain and how they're being assisted by a mystery woman. I explained my earlier misgivings and my more recent agreement with Olivia that whoever or whatever she may be, she's probably on 'our' side.

                Then I apologized for the way he found out about Leo and I. "It's nothing serious. I don't know if it ever will be. But we should have found another way to tell you. Anyway, we're leaving first thing tomorrow morning. Don't worry about us, take care and be well."

                "About time. Be careful and check in when you can. I'll send an envoy to the Mountain and will let you know if we find out more about this Hadass. And as for you and Leo, don't worry about it. Intercourse vests no property rights; I'm glad you found someone who you can be comfortable with. Goodnight and again, be careful."

                He hung up and I sat there for a few moments, stunned. I thanked Phillips for use of the phone and came back to the Excalibur in a daze. 'Intercourse vests no property rights'? I was speechless for a while.

                But the more I thought about it the more I fumed and the more I fumed the more things I thought to say to him. I so wanted to, but didn't, Send him a scorching message. I was so angry!

                'Property'?

                'Intercourse'?

                Men!

                I never did get any sleep. Just wait 'til I see Olivia!

                Men!

07/15/06:

                We all met in the lobby this morning at 4:00! Thank Corellon that Allison had her people see to packing and loading Scooby last night. She also had a huge amount of breakfast for us to take. Since I'd been up all night and was sill too wired to sleep, I volunteered to take the first shift behind the wheel.

                Leo appeared with the ambassador and all their gear. When it was all stowed away, Leo made introductions all around. The ambassador was one Walter Evans ("Please, call me Walter."). I managed a civil hello to him, but being civil to Leo, Olias and Alfred was difficult. I knew I shouldn't be pissed at all of them just because I was pissed at Malcolm, but dammit! Malcolm wasn't there to be pissed at!

                We were going over the maps and the route when we realized that we'd never told Leo about the trip to Yosemite first.

                "Any reason you're taking us thru Ka territory?" he asked.

                "Yes," I said, "I need to go to Yosemite. There's something I need to do there."

                "The meeting with your God's Chosen?"

                And how the Hell did he know about that? I just glared at him.

                "But why go thru Barstow?"

                "Currency exchange," I said. "Mr. Ambassador, I'm sorry, and hopefully your mission won't be delayed too much."

                "No problem, ma'am. Master Chief Mitchell and I are just glad for the ride and the company."

                Then things got confusing. A strange man that none of us had ever seen showed up and started to climb into Scooby.

                "Hey!" Alfred yelled.

                The guy stopped. "Aren't we leaving? I thought today was the day we were to leave."

                Olivia took a close look at him. "Tastes Like Chicken?"

                "Yes?"

                "That really you?"

                "It is. I met this person last night. I like him. He fit me." It was in the form of a tall, well-built man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Good looking, and VERY Nordic.

                "Well we sure can't call you 'Meg' anymore," I said.

                "Clint Eastwood?" it suggested, "I heard that name once, I liked it."

                Leo shook his head, "Nah, sounds like a porn star."

                "Sam Francisco?" Olivia suggested.

                "Good movie," I said, "But no."

                "Eight?" she said

                "Huh?"

                "Seven plus a dangly part."

                "I like it!" I said.

                Leo was muttering names, "Colt, Marcus, Slade, Dirk…"

                "Now those all sound like porn names," I told him.

                I looked at the blonde hair and the blue eyes, "Hans, Lars, Sven….."

                "Sven!" It smiled brightly. "I like Sven."

                So Sven it was. We were just about to leave when quite a few of Alfred's people showed up to see him off. Phillips was there, too. Dressed to the nines, as always. At 4:30 in the freakin' morning! And it was a different suit. And he had just shaved.

                He waved and yelled, "Good luck! Check in with us when you can!" We waved back, then I released the brakes and headed for the highway.

                Olivia tuned in the Vegas radio station and as we passed the western gates the DJ came on to say, "Well, the crew form the Outlands is headed out of town. Bon Voyage and happy trails to you! Guess there's only one thing to do for you now - and that's to play you a song." So we drove out of Vegas to "For Those About To Rock."

                Once we were well out of town, Olivia turned the radio down and crawled up into the turret to get some sleep. Alfred, Leo and Walter all found places to sleep, too. Olias was in the kitchenette, meditating and Sven was sitting next to me looking out the windows like a kid.

                We didn't see anything on the road except for a couple of traders headed for town. I had just crossed into California and was nearing the top of Clark Mountain when I saw a bunch of motorcycles lined up, ready to take off in pursuit. Then I spotted a guy in the middle of the road waving a construction crew stop sign at me. I started to slow down and yelled, "Heads up!"

                Everyone woke up and scrambled to various 'posts', Olivia swung the turret around to face forward. I stopped Scooby and we could see about 30 people spread out on both sides of the road.

                The guy with sign approached the side window and said, "This territory belongs to the Lords of Death. You will pay our toll."

                That's when the people to each side pulled crossbows and took aim at the tires.

                "And your toll is?" I asked.

                "$50,000.00. Cash or trade goods."

                Olivia yelled down from her perch, "Are you kidding us? Ever hear of Morganville?"

                "No!"

                "Oh. Well, it's now Used To Be Morganville!"

                Sven said, "Would this be the appropriate time to hit this button labeled 'Flame Throwers'?"

                He hit it as he said it, and I floored Scooby. Squashed the guy with the stop sign pretty good. Funny how they always run directly in front of you instead of diving to the side where you can't pancake them. Oh, well. One for the Darwins! As we passed the group, Sven hit the rear oil jets. He checked his side mirror and asked, "Are they supposed to writhe like that?"

                Once over the hill, we passed a camp of the Lords' non-combatants. Olivia got on the loudspeakers and called, "Hope some of you know first aid!" There were a few potshots taken at us, but nothing that caused any damage. After that, things stayed quiet for some time.

                We were closing in on Baker when we saw a billboard directing all travelers to pull into the next weigh station for an inspection, food and fuel. All the exits were blocked with debris and wrecked cars. There was another, larger barricade that forced me into the weigh station. As we neared it Olivia asked, "Leo, if we blew the barricade with grenades, will it damage the road, too?"

                "Not too much, but we don't know what's beyond the barricade and we might need the grenades later."

                At the entrance to the weigh station a sign said, "All will pay toll to the Overlord of Baker." Alfred said he knew nothing of an Overlord in Baker. Some men wearing the remnants of uniforms waived me into the station and asked me our purpose.

                "Just passing thru," I said.

                "Welcome to Baker. Due to his concern for the well being of travelers, the Overlord insists that you top off your tanks of gas and water before we can allow you to continue on."

                "How sweet of him," I said "How much?"

                "Twenty chips per gallon."

                Leo checked and we were down about 15 gallons, and our water was full of course. The men directed us to a filling station where Leo got out with a glass from the kitchen. He filled it with some gas and examined it. He held it up to the light, "Not the best quality. Probably home brewed." He sniffed it and dipped a finger in it and tasted it!

                "It's been sugared!" he said.

                "Nice trick!" said Olivia. "You wouldn't be trying to cause engine failure now would you? And just how much do you charge for towing vehicles back here?"

                They actually had the nerve to try and act innocent. And then the service bay doors began to roll up to reveal a couple Hummers with TOW rockets mounted on them. Olivia swung the turret into position and opened fire. Leo dove back towards the door and once inside he yelled, "Hit it!"

                So with Olivia launching grenades and Sven on the oil jets, I got us out of there. There were lots of explosions but no pursuit. On the edge of town we passed an old roadside motel that had been decorated with all sorts of kitsch; chandeliers, crystal gazing balls, flagstones, garden statuary, fountains - really tacky.

                Olivia asked, "You don't think there's really an Overlord here do you?"

                "No," Alfred said.

                Not too far after that we passed a couple of tow trucks parked on the shoulder - waiting for some customers, no doubt. Once we were past them, Olivia dropped some grenades on them, too.

                Rounding a curve, I saw some traders that had been headed towards Baker. They'd pulled over and were watching all the activity thru their binoculars. I stopped to warn them to be careful, "The people of Baker are probably pretty pissed off right now."

                One of them nodded and asked, "How long have those barricades been up?"

                "I don't know, this is our first time thru here."

                "Well, we were thru here a week or so ago and none of it was here then."

                Olivia asked them to let the Vegas officials know when they get into town. They agreed and thanked us for our warning. In turn they warned us of a honey pot ahead

                "A honey pot?" I asked.

                "Yeah, a trap baited with something too good to pass up. We didn't fall for it though. We stopped and scoped out the situation, saw the ambush and tear gassed 'em from a distance." They also warned us that Ka has a 'salvage' operation going on at the China Lake Weapons area. "They're shooting 'trespassers' on sight. So stay out of their way."

                "We will. Thank you and good trading," I told them and continued on.

                I'd been driving for about five hours when we saw a sign for the town of Harvard. "Food, Fuel and Ammo" the sign said.

                We pulled in to see the town itself burned to the ground and a small city of tents and shanties built on the outskirts. There was a lot of activity going on. There was a crew of people making adobe bricks while another crew was using some dried bricks to build small structures. One of the very few surviving structures was an old Motel 6. There was a large sign in front of it reading, "Buy! Sell! Trade!" We decided to stretch our legs and check out the market. Walter volunteered to stay with Scooby and Sven. We gave him one of the radios and took a couple with us.

                Outside the market there was a desk set up. The man sitting behind didn't seem to be selling anything but had two men standing guard for him. And these guys were straight out of the Road Warrior! Football pads, leather armor, and these big, peacock-looking Mohawks. Then we saw the sign on the desk that read "Arbitrator". There was another sign indicating that people with their hair in Mohawks (like the two at the desk) are The Law (and yes, they capitalized it!)

                At the entrance of the market a man informed us that we had to disarm before going in - only bladed weapons are allowed in the market. Olivia was pissed about that. "We don't have to stop here," I said, "We're almost to Barstow."

                "You won't get any better prices there," the man said. So we went back to Scooby to leave our weapons there. Or at least Olivia, Alfred and I did, Leo didn't leave a thing and looking at him - I had no idea where he might have things hidden, but I'm sure he did!

                Inside the market we saw lots of different types of fuel being traded. Quite a few luxury items as well, but nothing that we didn't have a better quality of, so we passed on most of it.

                Then all the sudden, Leo, Alfred and even Olias made a beeline towards one trader's booth. The guy had a table full of stuff that the boys were just all over! Olivia and I got there in time to hear the trader telling them that they were "All experimental prototypes of weapons looted from top secret government laboratories."

                Bullshit! It was all junk!

                "They look like props from an old Flash Gordon serial," Olivia said and tapped her ring at me with a shake of her head.

                I said, "Hey guys? Can we go?"

                No response. And when Leo asked, "How much?" I knew we were in trouble. Hurriedly, I threw out a Magic to disrupt whatever hold the objects had on them.

                That did it - they all came back to their senses. The trader looked at me and yelled, "Hey! What did you do?" But before I could answer, he had thrown a yellow flag in the air and was yelling, "Arbitrator!" Some muscle guys with Mohawks appeared and hustled the trader, Olivia and myself to the Arbitrators desk. The guys and a small crowd followed us.

                The Arbitrator asked the trader, "What do you claim?"

                He pointed at me and said, "She used Magic to cheat me out of a trade."

                The Arbitrator looked at me. "What is your claim?" I pointed at the trader and said loudly "He was using Magic to enthrall potential customers. And then he lied to them about his trade goods."

                "Forty lashes and banishment," the Arbitrator decreed.

                What? Me? But the guards moved in to surround the trader! He started shouting something when a radio on the Arbitrator's desk buzzed and blinked a few times.

                The Arbitrator said, "Appeal granted. Punishment reduced to Gulag."

                The trader began to scream as the guards led him off. The Arbitrator spoke again, "You are entitled to half of his goods, your choice."

                We went back to his stall and looked over everything he had, including an old pickup truck, but all we took was some cash, a few weapons and some ammo. As we took it a guard asked, "Are you satisfied with the ruling?"

                "Yeah, sure."

                The Arbitrator had accompanied us and looked over the remaining goods, "Most of this stuff is just crap." He turned to the crowd and said, "We give these items to the public." There was a rush as people moved in to claim things and an actual fight broke out over the guy's truck. As the guards tried to break that up we moved on to the ammo section.

                It was walled off from the rest of the market with its own entrance where we were stopped by more of the Mohawked guards. They demanded that we prove that we had the means to purchase anything. Alfred showed them the bag of chips and they allowed us to pass with a warning not to load any ammo into a weapon or test fire any weapon inside the market proper.

                So, following Leo, we went shopping! He found grenades for the launcher, 80 of them. At a bargain price of 100 chips each. Alfred asked about fuel for the flame-throwers. A trader had some cylinders for 200 chips each.

                Olivia asked, "Is that your normal price?"

                "I think it would be fairer to say 50 chips a cylinder," Alfred said.

                I said, "Come on now! We have nothing against people making an honest profit, but we won't be gouged."

                Then Leo stopped the whole conversation. "This is the right type of fuel, but we can't use it in these cylinders. All we really need is gasoline (which Olivia can provide) and a gelling agent."

                The trader said that he had some of that, too.

                "Good, we'll take it all," Leo told him

                So we got 10 canisters of the stuff for 100 chips each.

                Leo found a trader with the .50 caliber we need for Scooby but wouldn't buy it, "Let's pass," he said. "This is poor quality and will just jam the gun."

                "What are you talking about?" the trader demanded.

                "Break it apart and sell the rounds separately," Leo advised him. "The links holding the belt together are crap. Probably salvaged from a junkyard or something. The belt won't feed smooth. That's a catastrophic failure waiting to happen." The trader thanked him and pulled the belts back behind the counter.

                So we went back to Scooby and Leo agreed to drive. I went up to the turret and told Olivia about my conversation with Malcolm last night.

                "So?" she said.

                "He called me 'property'! And he wasn't even close enough for me to fry! I may have to rethink Corellon's plans for me."

                Alfred was listening in and said, "Come on Jazz, that's not exactly what he meant! I'm sure that what he meant was that he had no claim on you and that you are free to do as you wish."

                "Well he could have said it nicer! That sounded like something Morag would say."

                Olivia said, "I do think, dear, that Malcolm was trying to be nice, to paraphrase 'Just because we had sex doesn't mean that I own you or get to tell you what to do.'"

                Well that just made me mad - I wanted sympathy, not logic. "I'm telling ya Sister (and NO I do not mean anything by that except that all women are sisters when it come to the SHIT of men) the men inside - and possibly outside of Scooby - are going to rue the day they were born," I said.

                She insisted on being logical, "Come on, did you and Malcolm have fun? Then no harm, no foul."

                "I'm telling you Olivia - next time I see that man, sword or no sword, I'm gonna kick him in the nads."

                "I think Malcolm likes you very much," she said, "and he probably felt like I'd kicked him when I mentioned Leo. I wasn't intending to upset him, I swear. It was more that I wanted to let Cordie know that our little brother was 'seeing' someone."

                Well I guess I was getting pretty loud, 'cuz next thing I know Leo joined the conversation. "I've never, ever, felt that an act of love between two people indebted one party to another in any way but this: They owe that person respect and consideration. I respect you. I consider you free to control who you are with, if anyone, including me. Doesn't mean I don't have feelings for you. Means I respect your rights as an individual to control your own destiny. And your own body, and your own emotional health."

                "Maybe Malcolm said it too harsh. Maybe he said it exactly the wrong way. But what he said was not wrong. I don't know if you and I have known each other long enough to start tossing words like 'love' around. I like you. I feel comfortable and safe being with you. I trust you. Love is too important a word to use lightly, or prematurely. I think Malcolm felt the same way. I think he may have just said it poorly."

                "However, the man is the King. Giving him a shot in the nads is not appropriate. You really think he deserves it, or think I deserve one for being male, I'll give you your shot. No cup, no padding. No boots, either! Because if I have offended you, and this is the only apology that will do, than I offer it to you freely. If you need to take the shot, I'll park this thing and go stand at parade rest in the kitchenette."

                Wow! A speech from Leo of all people! But it did get thru to me.

                "Uncle!" I said, "Okay. I'll calm down. Leo, I'm not going to kick you, although your offer was 'sweet'. All three of you are right - in his own way Malcolm was probably trying to put me at ease. He worded it hideously but I need to let it go. I certainly never intended to get 'involved' with Malcolm, but we've been friends for so long that I guess I was taken a-back by the callousness of what he said. And the last thing I want to do is to roll into Yosemite carrying a "I hate Malcolm" vibe, so I promise, I'll let it go."

                Leo said, "That's all anyone can ask. And you're right; your duty to yourself and the people you have promised to protect requires you to focus on the task at hand. I've got a couple of books on revolution theory and change process management in asymmetrical theatres that you might find useful. DeToquevill, LeRouchfucold, Chairman Mao, Lenin, The Founding Fathers, Lec Walesa, the African National Congress, that sort of thing. If you're going to be pulling a Martin Luther, you best know something about dealing with Borgias."

                " Oh goody!" I said, "Nothing like some light reading for the road. Got any Ignatius Loyola? No, on second thought that would be a bad idea. Thanks for the thought though."

                So I climbed down and into one of the bunks to try and compose my thoughts. About 30 minutes later Leo spotted smoke ahead. As we got closer we saw a jack-knifed semi off the side of the road. Some others had stopped and were looting the wreckage. They were armed to the gills and made it plain that we should keep moving. As Leo drove around the wreck we saw bodies strung up by their ankles, hanging from power poles. Was this the honey pot the traders had warned us of? Past the accident scene there were some seriously scruffy types waiting their turn to go loot. Hyenas and vultures, the lot of them.

                A bit further on we came across two Hummers flying Ka colors. They were parked in a rest area and two large Orcs were using binoculars to check out the action at the wreck. With them was a Gold Elf girl. She was wearing nothing but a silk loincloth and was polishing the boots of one of the Orcs. I looked up into the turret and saw Olivia staring back down at me; she gave me a small shake of her head and I knew she was as upset as I was.

                Two miles later we hit the first Barstow checkpoint. Signs directed people who were just passing thru to follow one road while the people who were planning on stopping were directed a different way. Leo followed the signs to some parking areas. One sign read 'Secure Vehicle Parking, $50.00 Ka' while another said, "Trade Vehicle Parking, $100.00 Ka'. We recognized some of the vehicles in that lot from Vegas, so that's where we headed. At the entrance to the lot, the man in the guard shack asked, "Staying the day?"

                Olivia told him, "We don't have any Ka dollars yet."

                "That's no problem. We just won't let you leave until you pay up." He wrote something on a clipboard and rubberstamped a big green happy face on all of our hands, except Olivia and Alfred. For them he had little plastic bracelets with tags attached to them. "If you lose that tag - stay with someone else in your group so they can vouch for you. I know it's not the best system in the world, but ink stamps just don't work for you Drow."

                Leo parked Scooby and Olivia said, "Jazz and I have to do something while we're here."

                "Going back for that little Gold girl?" Leo asked.

                "Yep," I said, daring him to stop us.

                "Good."

                "Wanna come with us?" I asked.

                "Yep."

                "Olias, Alfred, will you two take care of the currency exchange while we're gone?"

                "Sure."

                Then we had to decide how to get back to them. Sven asked, "Can I help?" and it changed into an Orc wearing a Ka uniform.

                Leo shook his head, "Change back, you're smelling up the vehicle."

                "I can get us there," I said, "Like I got us around Arizona."

                Olivia said, "Okay, now, do we have a plan?"

                "Go in, get the girl, and kill 'em all," Leo said.

                "Good plan."

                As the three of us armed up, Olias said, "On second thought, I think we should stay inside Scooby until you get back." Alfred agreed. "Good idea, I don't like being split up any more than necessary."

                It took me two tries to get the Wind Magic to work. But once it did I let it take us out one of Scooby's windows and along the road back to the Orcs. I put us down a short distance from them and kept us in the misty form so we could get a good look around. The two Orcs were sitting exactly where they had been when we passed them. There was a third asleep in one of the vehicles and just then a fourth appeared from some underbrush. He was dragging a girl behind him. She was horribly beaten up and naked except for a dog collar.

                He tied her to the back of one of the vehicles, kicked her, and said, "You'll apologize or you'll run back to base." He sat down near the other two, gave them a big, disgusting wink and started fixed his hair in the side mirror of the Hummer.

                "He's mine," Olivia whispered. Leo and I nodded and each 'picked' one of the other two. With a warning nod I released the Magic and we opened fire.

                Olivia connected with all three of her shots and killed her target. I missed my first shot, but not the next two, and mine was dead. Leo also hit with all three of his shots, but that was one tough Orc. He actually got up and tried to turn our way while pulling his pistol. Leo finished him before he could clear the holster.

                The last one woke up and as he sat up to look around, Olivia put a bullet right between his eyes.

                The Gold Elf was screaming and trying to hide under one of the Hummers. Olivia ran around to her while I went to untie the other girl.

                Leo was gathering weapons, ammo and I.D.'s and stuffing them all into a big SWAT bag he found. I saw Olivia use some Magic to clean Orc blood off the girl. "Leo - jacket!" she said. And she got the girl into Leo's jacket while trying to calm her.

                "Are you crazy?" the girl said. "They were Officers!"

                "So?" Olivia said. "Look, you have to come with us, okay?"

                I had gotten the other girl untied and removed the dog collar. I threw it as far from the road as I could. "Leo - any jackets in those vehicles?" He found a full-length duster in one and tossed it my way. I used some Magic to calm her and got her into it.

                She looked at me and said, "We need to go. Now."

                Leo took one last look around the area and said, "She is quite correct. Let's go, ladies." Olivia took the opportunity to shoot the rapist in the crotch as I was bringing up the Magic. Minutes later we were back inside Scooby.

                When I dismissed the Magic the Gold Elf started freaking out again, so I used the same Magic I'd used on the other girl to calm her as well. Taking a better look at the other girl I could see semi-Elven features under all the bruises. Maybe she was half-Elven? I guessed she was maybe 17 years old and the Gold Elf couldn't have been more than 15.

                Leo caught my eye and said, "Me and the guys will go take care of the currency, if that's okay?"

                "Wait a minute!" Olivia said. She did a quick check of all the loot he'd brought back and found two things that looked to be like some kind of tracking devices. Magical ones.

                "I'll take care of those," Leo said, then they all left.

                I ran to the door and yelled, "Wait come back! Get some clothes for the girls, okay?" I gave them some size estimates and Olivia yelled, "And shoes, too!"

                Back inside we asked the girls their names. The Gold Elf introduced herself as Louisa and the half-Elf was Cindy. After she gave me her name, she looked at me like she was afraid I was going to hit her.

                "Could, could I have some food, please?" Of course! I got some MRE out for both of them and while they ate I did my best to heal Cindy - physically anyway. When she was finished she asked if we had a shower.

                "Of course," I said. "And we'll get you some clothes while you're cleaning up."

                She almost smiled at us. Olivia kept an 'eye' on her while she showered, just to make sure she didn't do anything crazy, while I dug thru our clothes for something for both of them to wear until they had their own clothes.

                Cindy emerged after about 15 minutes, dressed and sat down. "Thanks for rescuing me back there, how much do I owe you?"

                Olivia and I were appalled! "Nothing!"

                "Are you from around here?" Olivia asked her.

                "Where's here?" she asked.

                "Barstow."

                "Really? No, I'm from San Francisco."

                "Well we're going on to New Ectopia. We're from the Kingdom of the Outlands," Olivia said.

                "Where?" she asked and then gave a bitter little laugh. "I haven't gotten out much lately."

                "We're going to the Portland area from Durango, Colorado, by way of Las Vegas."

                She told us that she'd been chained up in a roadside 'rape stand' since the Change. "There was this guy that I'd met on the Internet. He lived in Reno and told me that he could get me a job. When things fell apart I went to meet him. But he knocked me out and threw me into the truck of his car."

                "He had other girls, too. We all ended up chained to the walls of horse stalls in an old stable. Anyone who could pay the guy was allowed to do anything he wanted to the girl of his choice. Once every three days or so we'd be taken out of our stalls and hosed down."

                "Three weeks ago, I'd been unchained for my 'shower' and I got loose and ran. But I ran right into those green things, and ever since then they'd been 'protecting' and feeding me in return for sex."

                She got quiet and didn't seem to want to talk anymore, so we asked Louisa her story.

                "I was assigned to those Officers. But they liked her better because she fought back. I'm from LA, but I guess I can't go back there. What are you going to do with me?"

                "We're going to get you both someplace safe, don't worry."

                "Yeah! Right!" Cindy snorted.

                There was a sudden, urgent knocking at the door. It was the guys. They climbed in, but Alfred stayed at the door, watching something. Olias handed us some clothes and shoes. Leo stored the moneybag away and said, "This place is buzzing. It seems that a Ka patrol didn't report in on time. Troops from their garrison went looking for them. Others are going to be questioning everyone who came in from that direction. We need to get them out of here and all the evidence, too."

                Louisa started to freak out at that, but Cindy just looked resigned. Olivia asked, "Jazz?"

                "Well, I can use the Wind to get them out of here, maybe to Vegas?"

                Sven changed into Slash in her Orc form and Louisa really freaked out. Sven said (in Slash's voice), "Okay - you're my escort and I found these two and now they're mine."

                I wondered to myself, "How did it do that? It'd never met Slash. Was it getting the image from Olivia's mind?"

                There was a knock on the door.

                Olivia said, "No! We don't know where she might be right now, and that might cause even more difficulties. Change back!" It did and Louisa took it down a notch.

                Olivia turned to the girls, "Trust me? Okay, just relax." She pulled up the Magic and suddenly there were two dogs there. An Australian Cattle Dog and a Pomeranian that began running around and yapping. God, that had to be Louisa. 'Cindy' walked over and plopped down on top of the SWAT bag, covering it up.

                The knocking repeated itself and Olivia hopped into the shower since it was still wet. Leo waited 'til she gave the okay and opened the door just as a Ka officer was raising his hand to knock again.

                "Do you mind?" Leo asked him. "We are trying to have a meeting."

                The Orc said, "Four Ka officers have been killed. There is also a question of some missing property."

                "Where did this happen?" Leo asked,

                "A couple miles south of town."

                "We passed a patrol on our way in. We saw two of your men with a little Elf girl. Are they the ones you're talking about?"

                The guy who had checked us in referred to his clipboard and told the Orc what time we had arrived.

                "Hmmm, that was two minutes after their last check in," the Orc said. "Still, I need to come in and take a look around for stowaways."

                He took a quick look around and asked us how long we planned on staying in Barstow.

                Olivia said, "We're done here. We were just getting ready to leave."

                "What is this vehicle?"

                "We like to call it the Scooby Mobile," I said.

                Olivia said, "It's a juggernaut."

                "Really? I though only the Mormons used them."

                "Well we 'borrowed' it from them," she said.

                "And your reason for going to Ka?"

                I said, "We're not - we're going to New Ectopia."

                "Are you traders?"

                "No. It's a personal trip."

                "And all the trade items we have are for personal use," Olivia added.

                "New Ectopia?" he asked.

                "Yes. New Ectopia," I gestured towards Olias. "Olias is from there, originally."

                "You see, I've received word that my mother is very ill. These good people are escorting me home," he said. He paused for a moment and then said, "Have you heard the Word of Corellon? With His Blessings you can………."

                The Orc turned for the door, "Oh no! Not another tree hugger!" He slammed the door behind him and went to the next vehicle.

                "Good one!" Leo told Olias.

                Leo paid the attendant and gave him a reasonably sized tip, then we took off. Cindy settled into a bunk and fell asleep while Louisa continued to yap for a while before finally falling asleep.

                We got out of Barstow with no more troubles and continued north. We saw some Ka patrol vehicles but were never stopped. We reached the town of Johannesburg about 6:00. There wasn't much to it, but they had a well-defended perimeter and inside it they were giving it a pretty good go at growing some crops. A sign proclaimed 'No Water - No Fuel - No Mercy'.