Loderunner

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er son Michael, to whom I wish much

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e if y

the dark interstellar wastes that currently belonged to the Terran Empire. Nine planets spun around it in suitably eccentric orbits – t

o laugh at. So one bright su – um, day, they called the star Ramalama – and named the two tiny moons of their new home Ding and Dong. (This is something of a local joke.) Since that time, the Te

the local forests. Over time, these four little settlements became towns, which spread with the rapidly growing

ter emitter barrels and the cores of warp engines (and to a lesser degree,

nna that it was a very important activity. Very large loderunner transports would arrive to pick up megatons of ore for shipping to other nearby colonies whose main business was ore processing and manufact

estination – having miles of white sandy beaches, bright clear sunny ski

oks, which punctuated the discovery that their lines had somehow got snagged and tangled irretrievably around some underwater obstruction – sometimes tied together with neat little bows. Often, several direct hits with hand grenades were needed to stun the creatures long enough just to catch them, gut them and fry them, but these former mi

lphins. They were warm blooded semi-intelligent air-breathers. People would come from light years around to see the endearing little creatures swimming in the blue ocean of Deanna Their pouches tended to slow them down quite a bit, and sometimes the tourists would be treated to the sight of a shoal of braking dolphins actually swimmin

ng, was only about fifty feet around and consisted of solid titanium and was also a known hazard to shipping. The Department of Tourism kept putting it back, never getting it quite right. Sometimes it would take up to four large space tugs to put it back into its low orbit, at the right altitude, speed and vector – but only after the Tourist Office had spent some quality time pol

phically dominant on Deanna was jeans, boots and tweed shirts. Cowboy hats kept the heat of Ramalama off your head if you didn't want to look like yesterday's bacon 'n beans b

. For the sake of his own mental health he had temporarily removed Hot Stuff Blend from the menu. The city was home to Atro City University, which taught everything from algebra and make-up application to advanced stamp collecting; and it was also home to the planet-famous bounty hunter – Beck the Badfeller. Beck was a

Skooch was a former Sheriff's Office Deputy in Atro City. After seven years of getting shot at for not much money, he decided it was time for a change. He d

elieved in crime management.) Timaset Skooch leaned back in the aluminum framed chair, checking his cards carefully while wearing his best poker face

the world of cards for the moment, while William seemed to be holding something behind his back, with his cards lying face down on the table. He had a rather bored expression on his scarred old face, which had a shadow on his

able laden with playing cards, cash and whisky glasses to pick up Peeping Willi

arrested Peeping William over an hour earlier, and was forced to wait while Beck finished another card game with his hands cuffed securely behind h

– I ain't got all d

Gary and put down a fo

e surly Jimmy Skoda plon

frazzled looking toothpick. Skooch threw down a five of reds and said nothing. There was an impatient pause as the players wai

gamblers were concerned. For Skooch it would help keep the wolves away for a few weeks. The kitty got off it, stretched and yawned before lazily dropping off the edge of the table. Undisturbed, the players continued. Jonn Deire began tapping his fingers on the table rather nervously. Well

out tha

ire exclaimed, slapping his car

reaching for the pile of notes and coins as the as

Jimmy Skoda, get

is eye, Beck the Badfeller reached across and

Then he looked directly at him, smiled and said "Great g