Matustos

  I awoke alone.

  I didn't feel anything like a sense of abando, just a rexed te. No promises had been made, so no expectations had gotten in the way. There was something refreshing in that. Much better than the frantic search for a parthat had been riding the bay brain bae. This was simple, and simple was good.

  I shaped a quick se on myself, and then the b, which I folded and carried with me back towards the camp. Magic was so useful. I o remind myself to use it more.

  It was early, the sun not quite over the horizon. The sky still had that grayed out predawn tohe Probes were still h about nearby. They gave me a greeting, 'New friends, now?'

  I sure hoped so. I needed some friends, and everyone here sure seemed friendly. I got quite a few cheerful m greetings on the way to the Galena. I had the Probes dock up with the car until I could properly introduce them. Their stealth would be wearing off at any time, and I didn't want the Folks up early to freak out.

  I grabbed another backpack out of the car and devoured a kiwi like copper fruit. It tasted of strawberries and cream.

  Then I slowly wandered over to the campfire area, hoping they had some coffee, or something simir. Turned out they did, and I happily received a carafe of coffee and a pte of scrambled eggs, with cheese and ba, for the pack of fruit. Everything in the food was off, not so much that I was going to pin, but enough that I noticed. The coffee was det though, gotta take those small victories.

  While I ate, I tinued pnning out how I wao spend my day. When a pair of hands blocked out my sight, also a vast lush softness enveloped my the bay head.

  "Guess, who?" A soft silky voitered my ear from about an inch away. Every little hair on my body stood to attention. This was a saucy minx, and I vaguely reized the voice from st night.

  "It had better be Sally." I whispered back. "Or we're going to have words." Of course, I k wasn't Sally. I'd felt enough of her body st night to know those weren't her breasts on my skull.

  That is of course when Sally walked into view ughing. She set down two ptes in front of me. While the dy I'd assumed was Mega go of me. Let the games begin I guess? I turned around, yeah. Those were... I mean her presence was hard to miss.

  Physically they were a study in trasts. Sally was tanned and Megan ale. Sally was whipcord lean and lithe and Megan was lushly curvy and pleasingly plump. Sally was sunny and blonde and Megan had hair that was almost pitch bck. Sally's eye were the most glorious blue, and Megan's were a deep rich green.

  "He does have a way about him." Megan sat o Sally.

  "Just wait. He's got all kinds of uses." Sally was nodding while digging into her food.

  "'He' is right here." I gave them a mock gre, which soon turned into a grin, as I shaped two quick ses and released them on them. Who doesn't like to be ? They apparently loved to be ed. Their shudders and shivers were all manner of eaining. Their voices rose in happy little gasps. Many of the men in the area gave me nods of approval, while the women folk looked nonplussed. None of them knew what I had done, but all of them were keeping an eye on me. I shrugged.

  I had discussed this effect with Meadran. Mana infusion was highly stimuting. Especially to folks who had lived in low mana zones. Sadly mana carrying your own signature would never affect you the same way, it was already your mana after all.

  "See, incredibly useful." Sally tried and failed to seem nont.

  "Honey, if you don't snatch him up, I'm going to tie him up and keep him in my trailer." Megan seemed deadly serious.

  Getting a little a their game, I gave them both a ft stare. "You don't learn, huh? No healing for you." They both turo me with a horrified look. I let them stew on that for a minute while I tried to suss out their dynamic. "This offense requires restitution. Perhaps you buy your way out. I'm partial to back rubs." I smirked. I was testing boundaries here, just as they had been earlier.

  "Well, we could work something out I'm sure." Sally her natural griurning. She gave Megan one of those looks that carries a whole world of meaniween women, but us men are sadly incapable of uanding.

  "Yes, I'm a fair hand with massage. I've had to get rex Sally after a mission a time or three." Megan nodding sagaciously.

  My brain halted for a fra of a sed, processing that eous statement. "Then maybe fiveness be yours." I nervously ughed. It was fun, to py around like this. Though now I had a lot unseemly images running around my head.

  I never would've thought that all I o do to be almost fortable with women, was to get snatched to another world. Full of death and terrible food, but also ample opportunities. I forced myself not to look at Megan's chest, I sort of succeeded. Ample, indeed.

  The couple of days that I spent with them in that camp settled into a rhythm. I made myself useful, healing and sing folk. W on cars, aing the Probes to patrol and repair some of the tougher problems. The Probes were easily adopted as erstwhile mascots by the Tribe, when I introduced them. Hell, I thought that they liked them more than me. Eh, uandable. The Robo-Buddies were awesome.

  I hadn't realized it at the time, but Megan and Sally were kind of a package deal. No, I didn't have the first clue about how that worked. But I also wasn't going to question my good fortune. If I spent time with one, I had to spend time with the other. This was no great chore, as both were excellent pany . Most of it was simply getting to know each other, with chatting and just spending time together. Everyday we at the very least shared a meal, and everynight there was a dance or three.

  More trasts between them became obvious, where Sally was rough and tumble, Megan was smooth and sidered. Where Sally was straight forward, Megan always found the most roundabout way to reach the same point. Sally was quick to anger and quick tive, Megan rarely got angry, but never fave once she had.

  It was hard to find enough time fetting to know them better, as they both had plenty of responsibilities to mahey did most work in camp together. Logistid anization, mostly. Outside of camp it was different. Megan ra. Sally buried the targets. They were trouble either way. The good kind I hoped. My head inning fr to figure out what was going on. Was I after one or both?

  Guzman had said that to court one was to court both, on the first day. We had been tinkering with vehicles, and I had asked if they were together, together. He said no, they just couldn't stand to be apart for long.

  Both it was then. Because I wasn't about to give up this growing e I felt with them. Even if it derailed ter, I was going to ride this crazy train as far as I could.

  The m of the sixth day, after I got to the Aldecaldos camp, Amanda came over to breakfast with the three of us. This was the first time I had seen her since we had dahat first night. I hit her with a se, it had bee an automatic reflex at this point. She barely twitched, uhat woman was. She didn't even blink. She did at least give me a thankful nod, "I've scouted out a good pce for a more long term setup. The plication being some Wraiths sulking about."

  She gave us a quick run down on number and positions. A lot and everywhere, was my takeaway. This was sounding like a night job with the Probes. I suggested as much. She nodded, "They are hard to spot in the dark." She nodded her acceptahe Nomads had decided that the Probes being impossible to spot at night was the hing ever. "They sweep around the far side and drive the Wraiths into a firing line."

  We went over every little detail three times. She pulled up charts and maps, from satellite feeds oablet. Then she drew out the pns, ahem to her teams. I really didn't have much to add, but I did take notes. Amanda's knowledge and experience was valuable, and I likely wouldn't have access to it indefinitely. They were Nomads, and would eventually move on. It was their way of life. I, oher hand, had to establish bases and outposts. I couldn't stay with them forever, no matter how much I enjoyed my time with them.

  This was the moment that I began to worry about a future with Sally and Megan. Whether there was going to be a future with them at all. And they k. Women had their ways. I'll never uand it.

  "Don't overthink it. We'll figure something out." Sally gently chided.

  "You won't be getting rid of us that easily." Megan curred.

  "You both aren't ever getting away from me, I'm owed backrubs. I always collect what I'm owed." I gave a mogly stern face. We all broke out into untrolble uproarious ughter.

  That night we had moved into our first position. I had given the Probes their instrus. I had gotten a series of beeps back, "We've got this." They took off like little bats out of hell. Had they somehow gotten faster? Huh.

  Sally had brought a Techtronika SPT 32 Grad a up. She was quickly ready to fire, down on the whion. Megan was led in right o her to act as a spotter. I could hear them softly w out a series of initial targets. I was there to make sure no o the drop ohen I was supposed to drive them to Sally's firing position, if needed.

  That meant I'd be driving Sally's Maaw. Truly, I was touched she'd eve me drive her beast out here to begin with. I knew how attached people could get to their rides.

  We were on an eroded outcropping, overlooking an old manufacturing pnt. This pce re fourth corporate war, whatever that was, and had produced middle grade cyberarts. The pnt itself was mostly hidden away from the rest of the badnds, by a series of hills and outcrops like ours. There was only one good drivable path up to it and that's where Amanda had positioned her people in an L formation. They had expined why that was a good ambush formation. So that you could overp fields of fire with little risk of hitting your own people. I probably wouldn't have thought of that myself.

  This was a good pce for an outpost, but only if you had a way to keep from getting bottled in. Well, I'd figure out how to take care of that ter.

  From all of the readings ulled up, the Wraiths weren't ed i itself, though Barry was going to do a quick sweep through it to make sure. They were camped around it, in a disanized mess. From this distance, I could barely make out aails, even with my eyes zoom fun. I gnced over at Sally's iron. That must be some opti her rifle. I wondered what I would see when she fired it prone. hought I'd cheer for recoil. Then I shook my head, my job was to watch the ope behind us. ertai for me.

  Amanda messaged us it was go time, I reyed the signal to the Probes. Soon we heard distant screams and yells, but I couldn't make out the sound of the Probes zapping the gonks.

  Then the Grad bellowed and I couldn't hear much at all for a while. Every time Sally took a shot, my ears suffered. Though a quick cast rowth fixed them, I decided to wait until we were doo save on my mana. I might for any wounded soon enough.

  All in all a very b half hour for me. Even Sally only ended up taking seven shots the whole time. The st two had been to core engine blocks, when the Wraiths finally broke and started to run. We found out her third shot had dropped Sourtooth their local Wraith warlord. Big points there. He had a major bounty on his head, and been a thorn in the side of a few of the Corps as well.

  The Probes had go mode on the Wraiths, barely any of the scum made it to the ambush point and they were shredded in a few seds when they had. People, vehicles or equipment they savaged everything, ying waste to the desert rats.

  When Amanda had given the all clear, the dies packed up and I drove us down to the ambush site. Hell, even the up was done by the time we got there. I was feeling just a bit useless. Sure, watg people's backs is important, of course it is. That didn't take that empty sug feeling in yut away. Eh, I tried to shake it off. My real work was about to begin, if the Probes eve me get over to the pnt before they started. Little showoffs. Gotta love the Robo-Buddies. Haha.

  Everything at the ambush position taken care of, so half of the group scattered to patrol around. Their job was to see if anyone was snooping about. The rest of us headed to the pnt. While the rest of them couldn't see them, the Probes were doing some kind of victory dance about fifty feet up in the air. Weaving bad forth making patterns only they uood. Silly little guys.

  When we had stopped, I excused myself to hunt up a good pce for a Moon Well. As I headed off I called back, "I'm going to trust you folks not to talk about what yoing to see ." I called the Probes over to me, and gave them their orders. I had them dig out a moat area then an overflow el for a stream then a pond about fifty yards away.

  It took them only a few mio get the moat and stream dug out. While Chud Barry kept excavating the pond, Fix started A Pylon above where the Moon Well was going to go. Meadran had ten silver Wisps loaded up into my Supron, which I called out here. I let Amanda know it was ing, since I didn't want any acts. Things were going to get crazy as it was. While waiting for the Wisps, I had Scuff start a Fe building to one side.

  We mirrored the moat stream and pond arra oher side of the cybernt. Another Pylon above the seoon Well position, and a Robotics Facility over there on that side of the area.

  Everyone had stayed well out of the way, setting up their o, but I soon heard their startled excmations. Yeah, buildings ing out of the void retty shog. But thehing ged agaihe Wisps finally arrived and I had them merge into the Moon Wells.

  Fresh Mana infused water began to flow and you'd think the Nomads had lost their minds. Haha, maybe we all had.