Project Boussh: Sundry Errands
by Nick Coghlan

"So the way I see it, we go to ground for the day, collect the bacta
tank tomorrow night and then head back to Brisbane to pick up Josh and
the Ewoks. He left Melbourne several hours before we did, so by the time
we find the bacta tank, he should be ready for pick up. And now that his
shock treatment has proven successful Elassar can keep Brad doped up
until we reach the cabin."

The others in the room nodded their heads in agreement with Nick's
summary. Looking around the room, he was once again struck by that
strange sense of unreality. These were creatures of the imagination,
suddenly come to life and standing full-fleshed in front of him.
Experienced warriors all, and willing to sit and listen as he wrapped up
their discussion. It was amazing how sensible you could make yourself
sound just by distilling the essence out of everyone else's comments.

As everyone dispersed to find amusements for their day of idleness, Nick
looked up to find Shalla waiting for him. "Are you up for a little
training?"

Nick thought about begging off. He had a funny feeling that agreeing
would mean spending a lot of the day hitting the ground. Hard. But hell,
maybe he'd learn something. "Sure, why not?"

********************
Ooryl looked out the shuttle's main viewpoint, trying to guage their
position relative to the lights of Mundubbera and the various roads.
Finally, he pointed at a copse of trees and said "There."

Bror brought the shuttle down gently. Looking at the sensor readouts, he
said "I can't see anything that would be the tank, but with it shut off
that isn't too surprising." Grimacing with distaste he said, "Looks like
we do this the hard way."

They all grabbed glow rods and headed out of the shuttle to look for the
bacta tank. Eventually Ooryl called softly to the others, "I have found
it. It is over here."

Nick wondered why the rest of them had even bothered getting out of the
shuttle. He headed over to help, but found that with Piggy and Ooryl
taking the bulk of the weight, his assistance proved to be quite
unnecessary. Since his prediction concerning the day's activities had
proven all too true, he probably wouldn't have been too useful anyway.

The sound of an automobile engine distracted him from the stately
progress of the bacta tank towards the shuttle. Looking around, he saw
headlights coming from the direction of the farmer's homestead. Swearing
to himself, he turned to Shalla who was also 'supervising' the movement
of the tank. "Have you got any reasonable common gemstones? Say an
emerald? Uncut, if possible."

Shalla nodded and ran inside the shuttle. Nick moved closer to the group
carrying the bacta tank. "I think the farmer's gotten curious about the
lights in his field. I've dealt with him before, so I'm going to try to
head him off before he gets too close." He received a few nods of
acknowledgement, so he ducked inside the shuttle to grab his ID from his
bag. While inside, Shalla handed him the emerald she had retrieved.
Nodding his thanks, he headed of through the trees to intercept the
farmer's ute.

********************
As the farmer drove up to the gate, he spotted an all too familiar
figure leaning against it. Bringing the ute to a halt, he leapt out,
gesturing wildly with the .22 he held in his left hand. "You again! You
bloody government types! Sneakin' around where ya' got no business,
disturbin' a man's peace. Reckon ya' can come traipsing through a man's
property without no permission or nothing. I've got a mind to report
you, I do."

The figure at the gate moved forward, hands held out in a placating
gesture. "Now, now good sir, no need to be so testy. We have greatly
appreciated your cooperation in this matter. I can assure you this is
the last time we will be disturbing your rest."

The farmer had got hold of an idea he liked, "Yeah, report you, that's
what I'll do. I'll complain to Pauline about government types harrassin'
and threatenin' me and all. That's what I'll do."

"I assure you sir, what we have been doing here is of extreme
significance in terms of national security. If it were to come to light,
there would be ... " The figure paused ominously, "repercussions." The
figure paused again, to allow time for his words to sink in. "However,
you will find we are not completely without compassion for those our
activities affect. Please accept this small token of our gratitude, and
as some compensation for the disruption yourself and your stock have
sufferred." With these words, the figure pressed a small stone into the
farmer's free hand. "Now sir, please be on your way. And remember, this
never happened, and I was never here. You found that gem while digging
on your property. Good night."

The figure folded his hands and stood staring at the farmer. The farmer
looked from the rock in his hand to the figure and back again. "Ahh,
right, sure, g'nite." Sounding vaguely puzzled, the farmer retreated
slowly to his truck. As the truck turned around, and headed back up the
rutted truck, the figure reamined perfectly motionless. Indeed, he
remained motionless until the truck had disappeared from sight.

********************
Jogging easily up the ramp into the shuttle, Nick hit the hatch close
button. "OK Bror," he shouted. "We're ready to rock."

"It's about bloody time," came the muffled reply from the cockpit.

********************
The shuttle landed in the back yard of the flat, under the cover of the
trees most recently used to conceal Piggy and Ooryl's X-wings. Debris
from the tress, and some deliberately shoveled dirt had combined to
conceal the remnants of those craft.

The shuttle's ramp was lowered, and Nick appeared at its head. Looking
around, he strode down it, and over to the back door of the flat.
Listening intently, he could faintly hear raucous cheering and shouting
from the Ewok's, even through the soundproofing he'd had installed when
he went into the Ewok farming business. Unlocking it, he went inside and
headed for Josh's room, following the source of the noise. Inside, he
was surprised to find Josh passed out on his bed and Yarg the centre of
an adoring gathering of Ewok's. At the sight of Nick, the bulk of the
Ewoks fell silent, but Yarg and his Melbourne compatriots cheered and
ran over to greet him. "Yub yub! Yub yub ichiwawa!"

"Hey, good to see you guys too. Are you ready to go again?"

"Yub yub yub!" Nick nodded. They'd be ready soon. Josh had already
explained what was needed, before they left Melbourne. Leaving Yarg to
his recruiting, Nick headed out to check on the van. Looking out the
window, he noticed Kronos was parked in the courtyard as well. But if
Kronos was here as well... Nick sank his head in his hands. Josh had let
the Ewoks drive again.

********************
Nick looked around. The van was out waiting for his brother to pick it
up. Kronos was parked in the garage, and the large collection of V
bottles in the back had explained Josh's current condition - he must
have made the Melbourne-Brisbane trip in a single hit. Smiling in
satisfaction at the way things had come together, he locked the rear
door of the flat before heading towards the shuttle. Leaning against the
hatchway, Shalla commented "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Nick looked puzzled. Pausing, he started ticking items off on his
fingers, "Josh, Ewoks, blasters, E-web, bacta tank. Seems like a
complete list to me."

Shalla quirked an eyebrow. "Uh-huh." She pointedly scanned Nick's simple
outfit of T-shirt and shorts. "And where are we going again?"

"New Ham..." Nick looked down. "Oh. I'll be right back."

With that, he disappeared back inside the flat, reappearing a short
while later carrying an assorted bundle of clothing more suited to an
American winter.

Shalla grinned. "Smart boy. C'mon, let's go join the others."

Shortly after, the shuttle rose quietly up into the night sky. As Bror
triggered the main engines, the ship soared out across the city towards
the Pacific Ocean, embarking on a surface hugging trip to the US of A.