After the Diamond Dust Bollocks, I took some time off to plot, I sent off a few long distance probes based on a few hunches, then got drunk, for three months. Women, beaches and song, it took a week to get sober, but here I am. Of the probes I sent out there were some good prospects but my interest was in the farthest one, all the way to the Oort Cloud, no one had mined there yet, so I had to see. I called it Titania, and had to have it, just for the glory, hell I had the money win or lose, let’s have some fun!

 I kept The Miners on retainer, so they were paid no matter what and they upgraded systems as they could, their ships were state of the art except for one thing. Seamus was very happy with the new Tractor beams I supplied him with, this combined with long range Statis, we could maybe get Titania, we would be the first to the Oort Cloud, and back, with Money.

 Back at Mars Prime (Elon, you are a smartass) I went looking for Kerry, but I heard she was on a mission to find weird stuff. She is weird, so to Rose’s I go. Always a great meal. There, I met up with some old friends, and checked out the scene, then She walked in. I had heard of the new Phenom in Temporal Golf, and she had heard of me, so I didn’t hesitate, and called her to my table. Angelique is her name, and she was adamant about kicking my ass in the Game. I hold many records, you see. I was far more interested in her slinky svelte body than her beating me, heh, and what a handful! After a night of drunken Debauchery I made the offer, wanna try the longest realtime shot in History? It was my plan to drive from Titania to the Moon, maybe a Hyzer shot around Jupiter, It was her and me for the record, she agreed and signed on as a ship’s mate.

 The Miners called me Lucky Cat, and waited on lists to join my next trip, so I got the best the Belt could offer, tough men with a sense of adventure and risk, well up to the task. Seamus had two more days to prepare when I showed him the railguns. He was impressed, and happily installed them on the Moria and the Leopard. We were good, but one more thing.

“Cat, where the hell are you going, and who’s the little Girl?” Oh Shit, it was Kerry on sidewave,

Uh, nothing, just exploring,

“Exploring with a girl half your age? Sure”

Hey she wants to beat me, what better way than the longest shot ever?

“You are a Slut”

I know.

“Have fun Big Boy, I see trouble ahead for you both”

She had no Idea how close she was to the truth…

The two of us spent the last Evening at Rose’s Cantina, a nice dinner and drinks, then came the Question, “Cat, what happens when we come home? What about us?”Ah Shit.

Angelique, there is no us, maybe there will be, but we are strangers, why look long term?

This may be a problem…

“I see Cat, you don’t mind if I follow you though?”

Please do, I hired more than a Golfer you know, 

I am very purpose driven, but a hard Woman is good to find, let’s see how it plays out.

 The next morning we launched, Leopard on one trajectory, Moria on another, with a rendezvous at the Slingshot point near Neptune, then outbound. The new Stasis fields worked well, we could use the engines as designed, at 15g+, we arrived at the Slingshot 5 seconds ahead of the Moria, who easily matched speed and we were Out!

 

 The Gifts of Elon

 Granted, We go back a few decades, but he believes in my vision, I get good pricing on his Equipment, hehe. The Leopard is Black Heat shield with Red upper and Yellow control fins, Stasis control, High yield Fusion reactors, and the best Railguns in the system, and it’s all Elon’s upgrades that make it happen, he wants success, We can provide. I am no man’s toy, this is my venture, and I have my own agenda, which will not be denied, Titania is mine!

to be continued