Nihao!

I didn't write this one, all credit goes to my friend Tanya Muller. 
However, as she does not have Net access, she asked me to post this. C&C 
are more than welcome, and will be passed on.


                                                                     JG

Jusenkyo Productions Proudly Presents
A Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction
Tanya Muller's

Winter Blossoms

Note: <> means in English  
11 March, 34
Dear Diary,
	Today was my first day as a transport pilot for MegaTokyo's ADP. 
Someday I
hope to fly some combat birds or at least a VS-710 Dropper. Till then, 
I'm a pilot that
knows how to use anything with a trigger. 
	I don't know why my Chief  Mitchell sent me to MegaTokyo. He knows that 
I
speak very little Japanese. (What I do know, I learned from Anime 
videos!)I actually took
a crash corse in the language, but I didn't do very well in it. (I 
learned the important
words: up, down, over there, fast, slow and of course bathroom.) This is 
probably why my
day went so bad. It started out with me greeting the chief of the AD 
Police (who looks like
a past president from the US)...

	The young woman stood with her hands clasped behind her and head bowed. 
Her
blond streaked brown hair was tied back in a ponytail and didn't cover 
her reddening
cheeks. Tears threatened to overflow from dark, brown eyes. She had just 
told the chief
"Good refrigerate, Sir."
	Chief scowled. "I believe the phrase you want is 'Good day, Sir.' 
Correct?"
	The woman just nodded. She had just embarrassed herself enough for on 
day.
Besides, her standard pilot's boots were very interesting.
	The lady was saved from any more humiliation by a young man storming 
into the
office. He was followed by another man that entered a little more 
sedately. The first man
had thick brown hair that fell to the top of his shoulder blades and 
dark eyes. He dressed
casually in jeans and a T-shirt with a denim jacket with the sleeves 
rolled up. The second
man had fiery red hair that reached the nape of his neck. He dressed a 
little more
professionally but still comfortable. Slacks, a button down shirt with 
the top one undone, a
bolo around his neck and a jacket made up his outfit. Ashley stepped to 
the side to let
them past her.
	"What the hell is the matter with you?! You sent my unit into combat 
with bad
information! Now over three quarters of them are either dead or so badly 
injured that they
will never be able to fight again unless they become Boomeroids!"
	"Ahem... Inspectors Leon McNichol, Daley Wong; I would like you to meet 
our
new transport pilot, Ashley Storm. She just transferred here from 
America."
	Ashley shyly smiled waved with her fingers. "Hello."
	"Hi!" Leon turned back to the Chief.
	 Ashley tuned him out and turned her attention back to her boots. He 
was going
too fast for her to understand what he was saying anyway. She felt a tug 
on the sleeve of
her oversized, men's, flight suit and looked up. Daley was pointing 
toward the door and
motioning her to come with him. She grinned and followed him. 
	Once they were out of the office, Ashley turned to the inspector. 
"<Thank you for
getting me out of there.>" She realized why Daley looked confused and 
repeated her
statement; this time in bad Japanese.
	Daley smiled. Slowly he said, "You won't be able to talk to the chief 
with Leon in
there, so why stay." He shrugged.
	"Thank you , Inspector," said Ashley. 
	"Daley."
	"What?"
	The inspector chuckled and said, "I go by Daley, not by rank. So does 
Leon."
	"Ash is what I am called. A short version of my name and what left 
after I finish
Boomer." Daley raised an eyebrow.
	"Then you should get along fine with Leon-Chan"
	" 'Chan'?" Ash asked. Then she noticed the earring in the left ear. The 
blush was
deeper than in the office. "Oh... Uh... Are you and Leon...Uh..."
	"Partners only in work. He's the flirt of the ADP. With women." Daley 
smiled at
the sigh of relief that came from the pretty, young pilot. "So do you 
know where
everything is, like the heliport and the like?"
	"I got lost finding Chiefs' office," admitted Ash shyly. "Headquarters 
in the US
only two stories."
	"Then let me show you around," said Daley. He motioned toward the 
office that
they had just vacated. "They won't be done 'till we get back and pull 
them apart."

12 March
	Today I made a new friend. Actually, two. The first was a really nice 
girl that
knew some English. We were going to have lunch together, but some things 
came up.
First it was Leon coming over to bribe my new friend. (She accepted a 
coupon for a
buy-one-get-one-free sundae at a nearby ice cream shop.) Secondly, I was 
called to
transport some suits to a unit doing maneuvers in a nearby field. As for 
the second
friend; well...

	Ash was sitting alone in a corner debating on weather or not to eat 
what she
ordered when the girl came over. She looked extremely young with red 
hair and wide
green eyes. She wore a uniform of an ADP operator and held a tray with 
coffee, a
sandwich and a piece of cake.
	"<Do you mind if I join you?>"
	Ash grinned. "<Not at all. Then maybe you can tell me what I ordered>."
	"<Last week's special,>" the girl giggled. "My name is Nene."
	"Ash. Shorten version of Ashley."
	"And what's left of a Boomer after your done with it. Daley told me." 
Nene sat
down across from the pilot and offered half of her sandwich. Storm 
gratefully accepted.
"He also told me I would probably find you here or in Leon's rec room."
	" 'Leon's rec room'?"
	"Yeah. The shooting range. Leon spends a lot of time there. Especially 
when he's
angry or frustrated," explained Nene.
	"So, why you looking for me? asked Ash.
	"Well I need some help on my English. Daley told me that you might... 
Um ...
Well..."
	"Want help on Japanese?"
	Nene blushed. "Well, yes."
	"<Now, why would he think that?>" Ash muttered, looking down at the 
plate she
had ordered. 
	 "I thought that maybe we could help each other," said Nene.
	Ash smiled and said, "I like that."
	Just then, Leon and Daley walked up. Leon looked like trouble 
personified. He
held a fistful of pictures and a big cheerful (albeit goofy) smile. 
Daley just looked worried. 
	"Nene-chan!"
	Nene scowled and braced herself. "What do you want, Leon?"
	"This is the Boomer that tore up my unit yesterday," Leon said, 
dropping the
pictures on the table. "I can't find it in the ADP's files. I was hoping 
that you could take a
look."
	Ash picked up one of the pictures. It resembled a Battlemover DD in a 
bestial sort
of way. It had a body like that of a cat and as such, walked on all 
fours. Instead of having
one tail, this Boomer had several Ribbon Cutters. Its skin was a 
metallic gray and was
reflecting a good amount of ammo. In the photo Ash held, two missals 
were being fired
from a pair of shoulder mounted launchers. The mouth/ head laser was 
likewise firing. At
the same time, it was doing a good impression of a cat with a cheap toy 
mouse. Except
that the "mouse" was an armored ADP troop transport.
	"Not average Boomer, is it?" Ash asked rhetorically.
	Leon looked at the pilot as if seeing her for the first time. Ash held 
out her hand.
"Ash Storm. Good to finally meet in person."
	Leon took her hand and frowned. "You're the new transport pilot. From 
America."
	"Oh, you do remember," said Ash, feigning shock. "I didn't think you 
saw me."
	Leon blushed as Nene and Daley laughed. In a failed attempt to regain 
his
composure, Leon turned to the red head. He waited a few seconds for her 
to stifle her
giggling.
	"Do you think you can find anything on this new Boomer, Nene?"
	"Well... maybe. I'm not sure."
	This time, it was Ash's turn to laugh as Leon pulled out a coupon for a
buy-one-get-one-free sundae at a new ice cream shop. Nene looked at it 
to make sure that
it was still good before she said anything.
	"You know, it just so happens that I do have a bit of information on 
it," she said,
after pocketing the paper. She stood up and picked up the cake. "Now, if 
you come with
me, I'll show you it."
	Nene turned to Ash. "I'm sorry about lunch. Maybe we could try this 
again
tomorrow?"
	"Sure. No problem," said Ash as she stood. "Have to fly stuff to unit 
doing
maneuvers outside city."
	"< I'll meet you here tomorrow, then. Good-bye!>
	"Bye!"

22 March
	Today, Americans celebrated Easter. I, for one, believe it to be a 
holiday
honoring the wonderful invention of chocolate. I had decided to surprise 
Nene and give
her an Easter basket at work. At 22, I can't help but to think of her as 
my 19 year old kid
sister. I even sent to America for some egg dye! I had put a ton of 
jelly beans in the
basket and everytime someone would pass her desk, they would steal one. 
Nene yelled at
anyone she caught doing this. The commotion it caused through out the 
day was enough
to get even the Chief to smile...

	"Ash, is this another one of your jokes?"
	"Nene! I'm hurt." Ash set the paper bag down on Nene's desk. "I swear 
to you that
it will not hurt you. Well, maybe a bit."
	Daley had wondered up to see what all the commotion was. "Come on, 
Nene.
Open it. I have to find Leon before he sends a squad looking for me."
	"All right, all right already. Sheesh." Nene ripped off the stapled top 
of the paper
bag and pulled out a pink basket overflowing with candy. The center 
piece was a huge
chocolate rabbit. Surrounding it were four colored eggs; blue with white 
stripes, red, blue,
and green. Jelly beans and other candy filled in the remaining space. 
The whole thing had
been wrapped in pink plastic wrap and tied with a big blue bow.
	"Everybody, run! Evacuate the building! Nene has candy!"
	The group that had gathered to see what was so important quickly 
dispersed. The
guy that had yelled the warning jumped behind a nearby desk and was 
peeking over the
top of it. Only Ash, Daley and Nene remained.
	"Come over here and say that, Macloud!" Nene yelled at the guy behind 
the desk.
	The guy shook his head and ducked under the desk. Everyone else was 
peeking
out from various hiding places. Finally, the Chief poked his head out of 
his office to find
out why it had become so quiet.
	"What is going on out here?" he asked, somewhat taken back by the 
silence.
	Ash spoke up, "I was just gave Nene a taste of America and everyone 
freaked
out."
	"Just what was this 'taste of America'?" the Chief asked, taking one 
step out of the
office.
	"A basket full of candy!" yelled Nene, rather shrilly.
	Ash turned to see her friend eating the ears of the rabbit. She was 
holding the
chocolate with both hand and trembling from head to toe. A wild look had 
appeared in her
eyes and a strange smile was creeping over her face. Suddenly, Nene 
broke into hysterical
laughter.
	Ash imaged both her and Daley doing a face fault. "Daley? Didn't you 
say you
were looking for Leon?" Daley nodded, never taking his eyes off the 
hysterical girl in front
of him. " I'll help you look for him, 'kay?"
	Ash didn't wait for his answer as she grabbed Daley's arm and pulled 
him to the                    
elevators. As the doors slid close, the sound of fervent giggling 
reached a crescendo.
	"I don't think I want to know what's she like when she drunk!" Ash 
exclaimed.

	Later that day, Leon passed Nene eating lunch (alone and with a circle 
of empty
tables surrounding her) and did a double take.
	"Um... Nene?"
	The girl in question looked up and Leon saw a glazed look in her eyes. 
"Yes?"
	"Is that egg you're eating... green?"
	Nene looked at the object in her hand and giggled. Leon took a step 
back. "Yes.
Ash gave it to me. She said it was something they do in America for some 
holiday."
	"Oh." Leon decided to have lunch at his desk that day. It would 
probably be safer.
13 April
	What a day! Ever since I got here, I've heard of these Knight Sabers. 
Four
armored women that fight Boomers. Daley tells me that they are just 
mercenaries, but
Leon tells me a different story. While they do take paying jobs, Leon 
says that they have
saved the ADP and himself many times. I have hoped to see them in action 
one day.
Today was that day. My first look at them happened in the center of 
Akihabara, a market
place of sorts. They were fantastic! They seemed to fight as one, their 
moves were so
coordinated. I can see why Leon thinks so much of these "mercenaries"...

	Daley watched as the CC-1, as the new Boomer was called, tore through 
ADP
equipment. He and Leon were behind a smashed patrol car. Leon had called 
for a retreat
after the beast had taken out the three "Fire-Bee" mini-choppers.  
Nothing the ADP had
could stop this Boomer. Nene's information didn't help much. It was 
downright
depressing. 
	Daley looked up and saw a familiar transport. It had a Japanese 
good-luck cat with
one paw raised, painted on the bottom. He nudged his partner and shouted 
over the noise
of the transport, " That's the Neko. How did Ash get stuck coming out 
here?"
	" I asked for her," yelled Leon. "She's modified the Neko to carry a 
K-11 and a
K-12S suit."
	Daley looked up in time to see a pair of rockets fired from the 
underbelly of the
transport. They came from the paw of the painted cat. As the same time, 
two suits
dropped out the back. The first opened a parachute, while the other 
fired a pair of
jumpjets. The rockets effectively distracted the CC-1 for the two suits 
to land safely.
	"I see she's made some other modifications. How'd she get it past the 
Chief?"
	"She didn't," shouted Leon over his shoulder as he ran over to the 
K-12S suit. He 
got it opened and slipped in. He looked at the K-11. "Is the remote 
control off?"
	"Yes, Sir!" came the youthful reply.
	"Good. You stay here with Daley. I need you to get him out of here if 
anything
happens to me." He stood in front of the kid in the other suit. "You got 
that?"
	"Y...yes, Sir." The kid was getting scared. That was good. If things 
even started to
look bad, the kid would get Daley out of there.
	"You are insane," Daley remarked casually, coming up beside the two 
power suits.
He pointed up. "Just about as insane as your friend in a high place." 
	Leon and the kid looked up and saw the Neko hovering just out of reach 
for the
Boomer to pounce on. As they watched, Ash dodged a pair of rockets and 
fired a pair
back.
	"She's trying to wear it down," whispered the kid in awe.
	"Well, then I'd best go help her," said Leon, triggering his Jumpjets.
	He landed next to the Boomer just after the missiles hit. As soon as 
his feet
touched the ground, Leon was firing away with the arm mounted chainguns. 
The Boomer
turned toward the inspector and did what Boomers do second best: he 
growled. Then he
did what Boomers do best: attempt to rip apart, blow apart or just blow 
up anything that
gets in their way. With one swipe of its alloy armored claw, the Boomer 
had disarmed the
suit and cut the power. A second swipe knocked Leon down on his back and 
pinned him.
The third swipe that would of decapitated him never came.
	Something exploded on the back of the beast. Leon looked past the 
Boomer and
saw four armed figures. They were standing on a nearby building. The 
suits reflected the
crescent moon, and the beams highlighted the graceful curves of the 
females in them.
Their obvious leader, the one in white with blue trim, looked down and 
spoke.
	"Knight Sabers. Sanjo!"
	The four women vaulted into the air and landed in front of the beast. 
It gave up on
using Leon as a scratching post and leaped at them. As they scattered, 
the white-armored
one yelled to Leon, "Get out of here! Without your suit, you will be 
killed!"
	"If I could I would," came the shouted reply. "The suit has me pinned."
	"Wonderful." Sylia Stingray, AKA the white Saber switched to helmet
commutations. "Priss, Nene; Linna an I will attempt to distract the 
Boomer. You two need
to get the inspector to safety."
	"Why do I always have to rescue him?" asked the woman in the blue hard 
suit as
she and the one in red ran to the fallen Leon.
	As soon as they were clear, Sylia and Linna, in green, attacked full 
force. Linna
tried to use her Wire Daggers, but they just bounced off the metallic 
skin. Then Sylia tried
at least damage the Boomer with her Laser Swords. She did no better than 
Linna. Both
weapons simply bounced off the Boomer's armor. It retaliated by firing 
it's head cannon at
the two women. Both jumped out of the way, but Linna was a hair too 
slow. A laser burst
hit her in the thigh and she fell. When she hit the ground, the Boomer 
was ready.
	Meanwhile, Priss and Nene were trying to figure out how to get Leon out 
in one
piece. The CC-1 had manage to nearly crush the right leg of the power 
suit. As it was ,
Leon's leg was pinned and until he could get his leg out, the only way 
to get him to safety
was to haul him, suit and all.
	Priss was getting ready to cut the leg off, when the three of them 
heard Linna's cry
of pain and Sylia's scream of horror. Finding the point of origin, Priss 
saw the familiar
green suit in the middle of a pool of red. Blood stained the claw of the 
Boomer.
	"Linna!"
	A voice from above boomed down, "Knight Sabers! I have a plan, but 
you'll have
to move it. I can't give you much time!"
	"Ash?"
	Priss turned to the youngest Knight Saber in pink. "You know her? Can 
we trust
her?"
	Nene nodded. She started to say something when an older K-11 power suit
appeared through the dust that the transport had stirred up. The kid 
flashed a smile at the
two women and hulled Leon up, suit and all.
	"Get ready to jump on the transport. The pilot is going to fire two 
smoke bombs
and wait for a count of twenty. Then she's going to fire her last two 
missiles." The kid
looked at Leon and said, "Before you start chewing me out, Daley's 
fine."
	Priss relayed the plan to Sylia. By this time, the Boomer had begun to 
take up
defensive positions. It had backed away from Linna and was now crouching 
like a
cornered cat. Priss had a bad feeling about this behavior and looked up 
in time to see three
BU-55C Boomers coming.
	"Sylia!"
	"I know, Priss. Get ready. I'm coming with Linna."
	A roaring sound filled the air. Priss, Nene, and the kid with Leon ran 
toward the
landing transport. Ash fired the two smoke bombs from the side window of 
the cockpit.
The bay door was open and the four people ran aboard. Daley met the kid 
and tried to
help. Priss went straight for the pilot.
	"Can you wait until the rest of the Sabers are here?" she asked. "We 
have an
injured member."
	"I can't wait too long," replied Ash. "I need to get out of here before 
those smoke
canisters run out."
	Priss felt the anger rising in her. She open her mouth to tell this 
little @#*%! what
she could do when she saw a familiar shape emerge from the smoke. Sylia 
was carrying
the injured Linna in both arms. Suddenly she jumped.
	"She'll meet us in the air! Let's go!" Priss yelled.
	Ash quickly complied. When they were about a meter off the ground, she 
launched
her remaining missals. She didn't wait to find out weather they did any 
good or not. She
got the signal that everyone was on board and punched the afterburners.

14 April
	Today was not one of the better mornings to go to work. Nene was 
depressed,
Leon was grumpy and Daley avoiding everyone. I suppose I should of 
expected this, what
with yesterday and all. I only had an afternoon shift but I came in 
early to fix up the
Neko. I also wanted to see how everyone was doing... 

	Ash walked into the ADP HQ and felt like she had taken a wrong turn and 
ended
up in a mortuary. By now, everyone had heard about the ADP's failure to 
stop the new
Boomer. Not everyone had heard about the Knight Sabers failure. Leon had 
sworn the
kid, Daley and Ash into secrecy aboard the transport. Ash swore 
everyone, including the
Knight Sabers, to secrecy about the hidden weapons.
	Ash stopped off at the detective's quarters to see how Leon and Daley 
were. She
realized too late that this was a bad idea. Leon was in the chair with 
both feet on the desk.
His right leg was in a brace from thigh to ankle. He held a clipboard 
and was writing
furiously. He looked up as she walked up. Daley was nowhere to be seen. 
	"Yes?"
	"<I came to see how you were doing, Leon.>" Ash said, forgetting where 
was.
	"I'll assume you were asking how I am and say fine, " he said. "The 
doctors say I
can get the brace off in a week."
	"That's good, isn't it?" Ash asked, tilting her head to the side.
	Leon gave her a small, tight smile. "Yeah. The problems is that the 
doctor said to
stay off my feet. So no Boomer chasing nor shooting practice."
	"Oh, no! what will become of the range?" Ash nearly yelled, throwing 
her head
back with her arm across her eyes and arching her back. She opened one 
eye and looked
at Leon.
	"Daley's right," he laughed. "You are a ham! Guess you'll have to take 
care of it."
	"Oh, good." Ash smiled wickedly. "I've been wanting to get the place 
painted. I
think a coat of pink would look nice, don't you?"
	The last thing Ash saw as she turned to leave was Leon's horrified 
expression.

	Ash finished fixing up the Neko and headed up to the cafeteria to grab 
an early
lunch. She stopped by operations, to see if Nene wanted to have lunch 
with her.  The girl
looked for all the world like she had lost her best friend. She 
literally growled at a
coworker that stopped to find out what was wrong. Ash decided to skip 
this lunch time
lesson.
	She sat down at a table and filled her Cup-O-Noodles with hot water. 
After that
day with the leftovers, Ash had brought her lunch and bought a drink 
(and a dessert if she
had the money). Of course, soup everyday wasn't all that appealing 
either. This could be
classified as a lose-lose situation.
	"Sigh." 
	"You weren't with the Neko, so I figured you'd be here or the shooting 
range."
	Ash looked up. "Hi, Daley. What's up?" She gestured to the seat across 
from her.
	"I take it Leon didn't tell you," Daley said sitting down. Ash shook 
her head. "That
Boomer got away. That white Saber told us that she had seen the three 
Bu-55C Boomers
transporting it away."
	"What!?"
	"The CC-1 Is still on the loose." Daley looked down at his hands. "I'm 
afraid that
Leon is going to take it personally and make hunting it down an 
obsession."
	Ash sat there in a stunned silence. This had never happened before in 
ADP history.
A boomer being rescued by other boomers simply did not happen.
	"I have the feeling that I should secure a few more missiles for the 
Neko then I
have now."
Meanwhile...
	Raven's Garage was situated in-between the factories of Timex City. 
This was the
temporary home for the two Knight Sabers not working. This was also the 
temporary
hospital for the injured Linna and her damaged suit.
	Linna was laying on a cot in the back room of the garage. Dr. "Pops" 
Raven was
finishing wrapping the bandages on her torso when Sylia came in with 
Priss.
	"How is she?" asked Sylia sitting down on the edge of the cot.
	"She'll live, so don't go mourning her yet," replied Raven with a 
sparkle in his eye.
"You jinxed these girls, Sylia. They just refuse to die."
	Sylia smiled and even chuckled when Priss protested. "We're not girls! 
Pops!"
	"Don't call me Pops!"
	"How's a lady supposed to sleep with all this yelling?" asked a weak 
voice.
	Sylia looked down and caught Linna's hand in her own. "How do you 
feel."
	"Terrible." Linna looked up at Raven and said, "I guess this means no 
aerobics for
a while, right?"
	"No activity of any kind for you, young lady."
	Priss spoke up from the foot of the bed. "Oh, sure. She's a lady and 
the rest of us
are girls, huh?"
	Sylia stood and stopped the friendly verbal fight. "Let's let Linna get 
some sleep in
peace, shall we?" She ushered Raven and Priss out the door and turned to 
her injured
friend. "I'll try to keep them quiet so you can sleep, but don't count 
on it. You know how
these two can be. Plus, Mackie is here. He'll fix your hardsuit."
	Linna smiled. "Thanks Sylia. Before you go, could you tell me what 
happened to
the Boomer?" Her voice had more then a twinge of hope to it.
	"I'm sorry, Linna. It got away. Three other Boomer got it."
	"Oh. Well, we'll get it next time, right?"
	Sylia only partially succeeded in smiling. "Yes," she almost whispered 
a Linna's
eyes closed. "Yes, next time."
25 April
	Today was kind of a strange day for me. I guess I made it a strange day 
for Nene
too. I told her something that I have only told one other person, who is 
now dead. My
friend is the only living person to know it. I don't even know why I 
told her. We were just
talking and I was thinking. I had done a lot of this since the CC-1 
attacked...
	
	"Nene? When do you want to die?
	"What?!" Nene was shocked to have her carefree friend ask her this. It 
was true
that Ash had been moody the last week and a half, but 'when do you want 
to die'? 
	Ash had been staring out the window of a ground floor restaurant when 
she asked.
Nene looked out and saw nothing but a grove of cherry trees in bloom. 
Still wondering
about the mental health of her eating companion, she turned back to her 
plate.
	"I don't know. I guess when I'm too old to do the things I like doing," 
Nene
replied. * Like hacking. No chance of becoming that old. Not with my 
other job! *
"Why?"
	"I want to die when there are cherry blossoms on the trees. Then the 
last thing I
see on this world would be something beautiful."
	Ash turned her attention back to Nene and saw a peculiar expression on 
her face.
Ash just laughed and said, "I'm not going crazy. Not yet at least."
	Nene tried to smile. It was probably the one time that she couldn't 
come up with a
genuine one.
	First Leon, now Ash. Who was next? Linna?
19 May
	Today was my day off, so I decided to finally move into my apartment. 
Up till
now, I have been living out of boxes. Daley tells me that Leon has been 
living like this for
as long as they've known each other. I couldn't stand it any more. I got 
a surprise visit
from Nene and a friend of hers. They offered to help me unpack, help for 
which I was
grateful for. At the end of the day, my new home looked at least 
livable. To thank them I
took them to an all-you-can-eat place that I had found recently.
	Still no sign of the CC-1. Daley was right; Leon is taking it 
personally. He had
Nene get every possible scrap of information on it. When he got his cast 
off all it seemed
to do was fuel his desire to find it and rip to shreds. Daley is getting 
worried and ...well,
so am I...

	Ash surveyed the job before her and almost cried. She had box upon box 
of her
stuff stacked all over the place. While some of it was marked, most were 
not. A small sigh
escaped her. It was going to be a long, boring day.
	Just as she started to open a box, there was a knock on the door. When 
she
opened it, Ash found Nene standing there with a big smile on her face. 
Behind her was a
taller woman dressed casually in a sweatshirt and blue jeans. Her dark 
hair was held back
with a yellow headband.
	"Good morning, Ash!" Nene nearly yelled. "I stopped by to introduce you 
to a
friend of mine, Linna, so you could you could have a social life outside 
of the ADP."
	"Come on in," said Ash, stepping behind the door.
	"Did we come at a bad time for you?" asked Nene's friend, looking at 
the boxes.
	"Naw. I didn't really want to this, but I guess since I have guests, I 
won't be able to
any way. Shucks!"
	"Oh, no. We can help, right Nene?"
	Nene just shrugged. "If you want the help, Ash, Linna and I are here 
for you."
	"Thanks. I could use the help."
	Linna looked around. "Where do we start?"
	"Good question," Ash said. "I was just asking myself that very 
question.
Unfortunately, my answer was to get another cup of coffee."
	Linna laughed and said, "That doesn't sound like a very good plan, but 
a tasteful
one."
	Ash took the hint and went into the kitchen and brought out two cups of 
hot tea.
"Sorry about this, but I can't find my coffee filters. I bought mine at 
the coffee shop
around the corner."
	Nene and Linna accepted the drinks and the three women sat down and 
started
unpacking. They divided the room into several sections. By the end of 
two hours, there
were sections for the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and the living room. 
They started with
the kitchen and moved around the apartment. By the end of the day, the 
house looked
lived in by humans. Ash had collapsed into the newly uncovered recliner 
while Nene and
Linna slumped on the sofa.
	"I know that I'm supposed to make you a dinner to show my 
appreciation," Ash
started, "but how about I take you both to this all-you-can-eat place 
just down the street?"
	The other two women agreed that it sounded like a plan. It just took 
them a few
more hours to stand up and walk to the restaurant.
23 May
	Nene said a friend of hers is playing at a night club called the 'Hot 
Legs". She
wanted me to go with her tomorrow night. This sounded like fun, so I 
said yes. I figured I
would need something to wear, so I went digging into my closet. I found 
the perfect dress.
If nothing else it would be easy to clean: mix soap and water and dunk 
in a martini glass.
Most of the chest was made with netting as were the sides from the under 
the arms to the
hip. The rest was black leather. I bought it on a shopping spree without 
thinking about
when I would wear it. Anyway, when I tried it on, I found that I needed 
to do a little
shopping. Nene suggested a place called the 'Silky Doll' ...

	

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