Hemi was right. The gun’s savage recoil would have been too much for her… would have been too much for most people. “Where the fuck did you get...this hand cannon from? Jesus man, you could drop a Jumbo jet with this puppy.” “Actually it’s a gift for you. I picked it up in South Africa last year and thought you’d get a kick out of it.” The casual chatter belied the tension in the vehicle as Hemi finally got us onto a quieter street, and rocketed forward. A quick glance behind confirmed that our. All of my words had vanished but I did not feel drained. I felt good. I was feeling really satisfied with myself when Sylvio pulled up."Ray, are you busy? Am I disturbing you? I have some of the sketches from the other day. You want to look see?"He energetically pulled several canvases out of the car and set them before me. All were completely different in tone and style. I suppose he was a Modernist, venturing and discovering the subject as he explored different media. One canvas was of a. .." This broke the tension a bit, drew out some chuckles, as well as a "Fuck You!" from Amanda. Don went on with a nod, and slight smile, pulling over a box of parts to sit on. He sighed."You three have a seat and report. Are you OK? Need anything?" Kine waved away the drinks two boys had rushed over, and sat on the deck leaning back against the shuttle. It was still cold from space, and that seemed to wake his mind up a bit. He felt Amanda sit and press her body against his, leaning her head. We rely on their help and support throughout the year, so it behoves us to treat them as equals in this time of trouble.”Everybody in the room had nodded in agreement when Alan had introduced the staff, but there was a bit of a stir at the word ‘trouble’.“As you are all no doubt aware, the government has become little more than a fascist, Hitlerite, xenophobic government. Earth First is not what it was. Anybody with their wits about them will see that the local elections due next spring are.