Hillbilly

[Stoat]

Ah's fin'ly gut Hillbilly flyin agin. Tuk a fair while, n'awl. A few months runnin stolen stuff roun' New York aint no way ter make'n easeh livin, 'n tha's fer sure.

Ah wuz fin'ly offer't a run inter Bret space haulin a load uv engines ter Trafalgar. Ah ran 'cross sum Mollies when ah gut thar, so ah menshun'd ah was lookin fer a new ride, an they tol meh ter pay a visit ter Arranmore in Dublin. Sum feller call't Coglan O'Rourke 'paren'ly 'ad a ship fer sale an ah liked the soun uv it. Ah jumpt a ride the next mornin.

Ah fine'ly foun Coglan snorin' inna pool uv 'is own puke in is lodgins. Ah chuk't im inter the shower and run it cold ter shake the cobwenbs outta his head. Squealed lahk a stuck pig he did! Heh, ah aint never heard language lahk the string o' curses he let fly at meh fer that! He gut rite pally rite quick when ah said ah was int'rested in is ship tho. He took meh rite ter see it. It wuz a Greyhound, an it'd sin better days, fer sure, but it were still in gud nick. An 'e were askin 'most nuthin fer it. Ah wuz happy ter pay whut 'e were askin. Ah rekons there'll beh sum feller what won' beh tho. Ah'm sure it weren't 'is ter sell. Still, 's mah ship now. Ah aint gunna let no fool tek it off've meh. They's'll jus have ter take it outta Coglan's hide.......

Ah wuz tryin' ter get mah new baby kit'd out, but they wuz runnin short 'o good stuff. Ah greased sum palms an fine'ly heard 'bout a Zoner stronghold in Omega 49, so ah headed fer it rite away. Ah aint never seen nowhere like Gran Canaria b'fore. It were heavin. Folks frum awl over Sirius. 'Twere gud fer meh, fer sure. Made sum contacts, heard 'bout sum prof'table runs. Ah gut this cannon kinda thang fer mah ship 'n'awl. Hoooeeee, it's one mean sonofabitch! Ah's'll be goin there agin!

Anyways, ah gut it kit'd owt an wuz headin fer home when ah gut a call frum Paw. 'e was headin up inter Outcast space fer a few days an needed a pickup home. Ah offer't ter cum fetch im, an headed off thru the Omega's. Ah wuz headin fer the freeport in 41 when ah picked up sum faint signal. Ah went ter check it out, cuz yer never noes whut yer gonna find, an came up agin a wall uv mines. They was fair spaced tho, so ah wuz able ter pick mah way thru em, till ah foun whut was givin off the signal. A ship, fair shot up, an dead in space. Ah give it a bit o' a nudge wi mah guns, an bits fell out! Ah tractored the lot in an headed fer the Freeport.

Ah had ter do an evasive when sum hunters flipped up on mah scanners. They wuz givin meh a fair kickin when ah happ'nt 'cross a jumphole, so ah jumped blind. Foun mesel in Omicron Theta uv awl places. Ah were still bein swarmd bah hunters so ah took off fer the nearest Zoner base. Ah cud'n get free o' them darn hunters tho, an as ah gut near the Zoner base, one o' mah cruise disrupters hit the damn station an' they started firin on meh! Ah could'n tell em ter stop neither cuz the damn hunters had fused mah comms array! Ah near bought it unner awl that fire, but ah jus' made it out o' range uv the station. Ah wuz able ter finish the last o' the hunters, so ah headed fer the jump ter Sigma 17 an a bit o peace.

It were gud ter get a rest in the Sigmas. Ah avoided the main trails thru the systems and were able ter get ter Ruiz base wiout runnin cross no more hunters. Ah flogged off the stuff ahd gut offve the wreck in 41, part frum one thang, a ships gun. Ah callt a fren o mine, Hector Pisano, ter cum tek a looksee. Hes a gud mechanic! Heh, he were able ter rig it onter mah ship! Heh, ah couldn wait ter test it, so ah headed fer Alpha. Hector said thered bin sum dustups wi hunters so ah reckond ahd get meh sum trophies.

Ah jumpt thru and ran straight inter a mine! Damn thang stripped mah shields, fried mah systems and kicked me off inter the nebula wiout no control! Ah mustve drifted fer hours, tryin ter get sum kinda life outta mah ship. It were getting rite cold in mah cockpit. Ah wuz wundrin if ah wuz dun fer, when meh ship slammed inter summit. The power kicked back in, an ah had control agin. It were nuthin short uv a miracle! Ah checked mah scanners, an there wuz ships evrywhere ah looked. They wuz awl Sabres nawl, like it were sum sorta graveyard er summit. Sum stuff were kicked loose frum the ship ahd hit, so ah hit the tractor an legged it. Ah aint one fer nickin stuff offve the dead er nuthin, but ah wuz raised ter never look a gift horse inna mouth. An evryones bin hearin the story bout them outcast ghosts. Las thing ah wuz gunna do wuz hang aroun!

Ah headed fer Ibiza ter fetch Paw, dodgin outcast patrols. Ahs frenly wi em nevrythin, but ah werent gunna let em see ahd gut stuff frum their graveyard on meh! Paw greed ter shuttle out ter meh so as ah cud avoid the dockin scans, an then we headed fer home thru the Taus. It werent til we wuz back at Rochester that ah wuz able ter see whutd fell offve the old Sabre. Sum pretty dodgy lookin splosives ah solt rite off. They looked like theydve blown ifn ahd sneezed on em! But there wuz summit worth hangin onter. Anuther weird gun. This un had Silverfire carved inter its surface.

Ah gut the mechanics workin on riggin it ter mah new ship. Sa gud job Hectord done that uther one, er theydve made a rite mess uv it. As is ah caint tek the durn thang offve the ship wiout bustin it. Caint fault how it looks tho. Ahs bin askin roun ter see if theres any more oem floatin abouts. Seems as like there be sum weapons dealers as has 'em fer a price! The new Hillbillyd look rite fine ifn ah cud get it fitted out wi two more. Ahsll have ter keep a low profile when theres Outcasts around ah guess, if'n they's awl cum frum that graveyard. Ahs bin spottin a lot uv the Reapers around Rochester these days. Heck, ah caint wait ter test em on Copeland 'n 'is crew! Heh!

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